Brothers of the Sand
by Z-ro
Summary: AU. There was a time when he wanted nothing more than to have a friend. Now his only goal is to go home. Naruto and Gaara friendship story. Its NOT yaoi.
1. Chapter 1 Secrets

Chapter updated 2010. I don't own Naruto.

Brothers of the Sand

Chapter 1 Secrets

A single clawed paw ripped the earth creating a deep crevice in an attempt to keep balance. Screams echoed through the woods as several shinobi shouted their last breaths of pain before another strike of lightening landed on them. Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox-demon, growled forcing several teams of ninja to fall under the pressure of killing lust.

"Ignore it, move your asses!" One of the elite ninja titled jounin led several surviving shinobi through the forest to move closer to one of the forty-foot paws of the demon.

"Aim for the ankle joint!" Every ninja performed their strongest technique for the lone purpose of slowing the monster down. The growl hundreds of feet above them turned to a snarl and torrents of water appeared from behind the jounin team. The still living members of the advanced tactical unit forced themselves to stand. Far in the distance they heard someone shout. "The Fourth Hokage has arrived!" Immediately the sound for retreat was heard by an echoing horn.

Several teams cheered and immediately moved towards the fall back point. The forest exploded in clouds of dense spiritual energy behind the retreating mass of troops. A giant red frog stood in front of the fox. On top of the leader of the Frog Clan, a blonde man in a white jacket held his hands together in a hand signal for bird. "Almost there Gama-bunta!" The red frog grunted in response. "There! I collected enough chakra. _Summoning technique: Army of the Toad Sage_" Several clouds of dense chakra surrounded the Demon Fox. The clouds cleared with a frog each brandishing a weapon. Every frog was as large as Gama-bunta but none were the same size of the fox they surrounded.

The Hokage relaxed his hands. "Pin the kyuubi." There was a battle roar from the seven frogs. Each charged the fox. Several used their weapons to pin the demons' tails while others focused on his legs and neck. Minato looked at his hands before they clasped together in a prayer. "Gama-bunta lend me your chakra. I have no more." Gamabunta closed his eyes and focused his spiritual energy into Minato.

The Hokage let the world drop away from him. Black space surrounded him. The mask of the death god who took souls to the after life stood in front of him. His mask was white permanently etched into a snarling mouth and furrowed eyes. _You beg for death human?_

"I beg for my death so the lives of my people may be spared. I beg you to seal away the power of the Kyuubi in exchange for my life."

The white tattered robes of the death god moved around Minato. _The lives taken must be balanced with the lives given into your world. A new life must be brought into your world. Now... Name the child…"_

Minato paused for a moment. "A child must hold the Kyuubi's power?"

_Yes._

The village leader knew every family who would have a child. He would bless them after they were born for their new lives. The Hokage's heart clenched at the idea of anyone's child holding such a burden. Finally he thought of his own son that would not be born for another few weeks. "Naruto, my son Naruto!"

_Feel the soul of the Kyuubi, Hokage of the Leaf Village._ _Force it to your will._

Minato felt the world surround him again. Quietly to himself he muttered. "I hope everyone can forgive me." Gama-bunta felt Minato tap his head. The Toad leader quickly jumped onto the back of the Kyuubi. The frog pulled out a knife stabbing the fox before Minato dove into the gaping wound.

_Mold the kyuubi into the shape you want._ Minato smiled thinking of his wife and unborn son. Moments later, the village leader was no more. The body of the fox faded into red light.

In the village a woman named Kushina felt her abdomen. She cried in pain before screaming out to her husband's pupil. "Kakashi, the baby's coming!" The silver-haired teen quickly shouted to near by civilians to help move her inside the nearest building. An hour later Kakashi was holding a baby. Kakashi's scared eye examined the baby. Outside cheers were heard for the defeat of the demon that had come close to attacking their village.

"Kushina did not survive the birth?" An old man walked into the room. He looked over to the figure covered in a bed sheet.

"The baby was born a month early. It is a miracle that it is still alive. But this concerns me Sarutobi-sama."

"You don't need to call me master, Kakashi I am no longer Hokage. What is it?" Sarutobi looked at the tattoo like spiral on the belly of the new born. "It is a seal of some kind. It likely forced the birth." Sarutobi placed a gentle hand over the baby and channeled a small amount of chakra into the boy. Red energy pressed back out lashing at the old man's hand. "I see… You were right to send someone for me. This was not a natural birth. It is a side effect of what ever Minato did to the fox. The chakra that pushed me away is the demon's energy."

Kakashi looked at the markings on the baby again. "It is a seal. The baby is a self sacrifice container."

-o -

The joy the country side felt of the apparent death of the demon passed quickly at the discovery of both Hokage and his wife's death. Many of the witnesses to Kushina's death and the birth of her child took the baby to be an ill omen. When it was discovered the child held within him the demon that killed so many people, grief turned to anger at the demon and fear of the boy. Sarutobi took the mantle of village leader once again. As Hokage, he placed an order punishable by death. No one will tell the true circumstances of Naruto Uzumaki's birth. No one will harm the child. No one will speak of the Kyuubi or his relation to the new born.

The resentment of the new laws built as the boy grew. While the common folk of the village could not disobey the laws, they could still make the child's life difficult.

And his life was difficult.

The Hokage was assaulted by protests and threats that the villagers who owned businesses. They would rather leave than live in a village that would allow such an abomination to live among them. By the time Naruto was one year old, A council of commerce representatives was formed into a Konoha commerce union. With their combined power to agree to leave and cripple Konoha's lively hood, they demanded that the boy should be removed from the village.

Sarutobi created a compromise. The boy would receive minimal help from the Konoha military, and in exchange the commerce union would stay, and leave the boy alone. Unfortunately Sarutobi set a precedent for the commerce's council to make decisions they would never before be allowed to make.

-o-

Six years passed and Naruto had grown into a determined child. It had been a year since he had lived with out the aid of an over seer but to a child, a year is a life time. The blonde head bounced from the teacher to the clock. He fidgeted with his goggles around his neck. It was almost four in the afternoon and school was almost out. The bell rang and he cheered with the rest of the class. He did not see the little girl three rows behind him looking at him run out the door. Her face flushed at loosing another chance to speak with him. He ran around a group of kids who would normally try and bully him. Today was supposed to be a festival day and Naruto wanted to see what was the big deal.

He ran tugging at his orange shirt since it was itchy when it got hot. Naruto left the school yard and cleared around the corner and slowed to a stop. Several adults were in his path. Each one dropped the smile from their child and placed their children behind them protectively. Naruto felt the warning roll off the adults before they turned the other way.

Naruto moved through town to look at the festival that had started that morning. The park was too full of people that Naruto knew did not like him so it was avoided in favor of the free food samples being handed out in the galley. He did not know what it was that he felt a lot more welcoming to this place. Many of the adults smiled at him and treated him like a good boy when he politely asked for something to try. Other children moved around him when they asked for a sample as well. Naruto felt he had a pleasant time when the sun set. He had found a few rows of stands that sold clothes and trinkets and they all talked to him about their trade.

Uzumaki realized through one conversation with a jewel crafter that everyone he talked to were not from Konoha. The boy looked around and noticed that several of the villagers who were shopping would see the boy and avoid the store he was in. Naruto felt it was time to go home.

-o-

A pot of boiling water sat on the stove and a pan of cooking oil was sizzling three small slices of pork. Naruto felt despite the revelation that it was nicer outside his town he liked his home. He had the nice old man that gave him his goggles and put him into the ninja school, the ramen stand owner and his daughter, and the attention of his class when he prank the teachers. When he did something, they all looked at him. It was nice to be noticed.

Naruto talked quietly to himself inventing a story of the noodle bowl that will eat its slave pork. After a roar and cry he put in the pork into the pot of boiling noodles. He added three mixes of powder donated by the nice man at the ramen shop that makes him a free bowl of ramen if he helped clean some pots.

He hopped off the tall stool in front of the stove and climbed onto another one to get his plate and cup. Several hops between the stool in front of the stove and the dinning room table that he found abandoned in a garbage bin finished his story with dinner ready to be eaten. "Itadakimasu!"

Naruto had one mouth full of noodles in his mouth when he heard something explode in the kitchen. "The stove!" Naruto saw that while he turned off the stove, he cloths must have pulled on the knob when he jumped off the stool when he was about to eat. The knob was on the floor and the gas was blowing at full blast in a jet of fire.

Naruto looked around realizing there was no way that was the cause of the explosion he heard. The child quickly grabbed a pot from the lowest shelf on the floor and started filling it with water. Another explosion rumbled in the kitchen and Naruto saw the doors high above the stove break apart with a can of cleaner slamming against the opposite walls.

With great effort carried the pot full of water to the stove splashing half of the contents on the counter top before he finally dumped the water on to the stove extinguishing the flame but still the gas was still being released into the room. Naruto dug around for the knob to the stove and quickly mashed it against the metal stub that the knob belonged to. Finally he put it on correctly and turned off the gas. Naruto sighed and slid to the wet ground. A great disaster was avoided.

Naruto cleaned up the water and opened the windows and the front door to his apartment to air out his home. When he was done he finally sat down and ate his cold meal. "That was a lot of excitement for one night." He cheered to himself. Half way through the meal, he heard the start of the fireworks for the festival. He moved his sleeping mat to the open window with his blankets and huddled there watching the fire works in the sky and quietly fell asleep.

-o-

Late in the evening the hiss of a gas leak was muffled by the closed doors and water that has seeped into the cracks within the walls. An hour passed where the kitchen slowly built an enormous amount of fuel. Finally it bled out of the kitchen through the gaps in the doors and caught the draft out the outside air. The disaster that occurred in the next moment started with a candle Naruto lit, that rested on the window sill in a glass vase to protect it from the wind.

Naruto woke up with no ability to hear what was going on around him. He just knows a large bang woke him up. He was blinded by the heat and smoke billowed out of the windows in stood in front of. He screamed a soundless scream before trying to find the bucket he had still full of water.

-o-

Below the building, people walking home noticed the light. Several thought to call for help before they remembered who lived in that apartment. Many chose to watch, content to see the building burn with the screams still sounding from in the apartment. Some appeared to be smiling, some looked relieved. No one wanted to help the child.

-o-

Deep within the boy two red eyes opened. The eyes felt the heat from beyond the boys' body. He closed his eyes and sneered. The child would live, someone was watching over him.

Inside the house, the fire was closing around the little boy before a man appeared next to Naruto. He moved his chakra filled arm to the side and the fire swept into nonexistence. He looked at the boy ensuring the fire did not harm him too badly. Naruto was breathing but faintly. The adult picked him up and walked to the window and jumped to the ground.

There was a group of adults who looked at the apartment window where they saw fire. The adults looked at the blonde boy who was unconscious. A few of the adults gave a guilty flinch at seeing the boy. "Clear out before I report you are obstructing a potential crime scene." The crowd of onlookers could only stare at the cold grey eyes behind the ANBU mask. The adults turned away.

ANBU stood outside the apartment and observed burned remains of the main room. The floor was too weak to support their weight and would collapse if more weight was placed on it. The old man sighed at the sight. Naruto lay resting on a stretcher with two ANBU that had their masks off. They were both healers.

"He is so young."

"He is. I am sure he will be alright." The medic ninja nodded at the ANBU soldier that rescued Naruto.

The ANBU leader nodded and turned away to talk to his men.

- o -

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself inside a large office. He lay on a plush couch. He coughed a little still tasting the smoke in his lungs. He sat up and stretched. "I am glad you are looking well."

The boy looked up and saw an old man standing next to him. He wore a simple white robe and had no hat or even headband showing he was a ninja. "How are you feeling Naruto?"

The child shook his head still disorientated, "What happened?"

The Sandaime sat in front of the boy who was still seated on the couch. "The kitchen stove in your apartment was very old. The gas line in the stove had bulged. The line seemed to have melted some how creating a large pocket of gas just near the mouth of the line.

Naruto guiltily told his story of the fire the night before. "I am sorry old man. I didn't mean to blow up the nice home you gave me."

The Sandaime Hokage gently rubbed the child's back. "Well this leads to a slight problem as to where I am going to place you."

Naruto thought for a second before he remembered his time at the festival. "Can I go somewhere out of Konoha until my apartment is fixed?"

"Is there something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto thought about what he remembered feeling like at the festival. "I met people I never saw at the festival. They were all nice. I felt special… Normal. I want to feel that again." Naruto lowered his head.

"There is something else Naruto… What is it?" Naruto mumbled a few words, but the Hokage was able to understand their meaning. "You saw the people do nothing to help you." Naruto nodded as his eyes began to tear.

"You have lived through a very trying experience. I am sorry I have failed you Naruto." Naruto began to sob and hugged his old man. The boy's small body trembled in the Hokage's mans arms. The old man looked at the boy and placed a warm hand on Naruto's shoulder. After a few seconds Naruto's body stopped shaking. Naruto lowered his legs and looked at the old man. The Hokage rubbed his eyes. It pained him so to see this child suffer. The blonde haired boy looked at him confusion written on his face. The Hokage looked at the boy and handed him some tea. The boy took it and sipped slowly. The tea allowed him to do something while the Hokage started. "I suppose now is as good of a time to explain some things of this village. It started with the demon fox Kyuubi who attacked our village six years ago…"

The old man explained to the boy the reason why he was hated, ignored and the old mans' own disappointment in his village. Naruto sobbed out the years of leering, jokes and loneliness he had held and latched onto the old man. He understood now why he was hated. The old man had talked to him long and hard for the whole day of what he is and is not, what the village thinks he was and was not, and what Naruto will become and will never be.

It was night fall when Naruto fell asleep. He was too exhausted to eat much, and went straight to sleep. The Sandaime glanced down at the sleeping boy and sighed. The council was already demanding a meeting for the damages and the punishment on the boy for the apartment building. The Hokage gritted his teeth.

"Hokage-sama" A jounin appeared behind the Kage. He was kneeling deeply and had one hand on the floor in submission to his superior.

The old man turned to the Nin and motioned for the man to stand. "Stand, what news do you have from the Sand Village?"

"The Kazekage read your letter and immediately replied. His reaction was that of confusion and concern Hokage-sama." He bowed his head and handed the village leader the scroll.

_Brother Kage,_

_I understand your need to protect the village child. If you feel that you can part with him for several years, we of the Suna village will be willing to over see the child's safety. Be warned, I would not lie to my people over the identity of the child. He may have a harder time here. If the boy, Uzumaki Naruto is willing, he may request to return to your village at any time. I would be happy to have the boy claim asylum in the Suna Village._

The Third looked at the rest of the message. The letter was more wordy messages of cooperation between the two nations. He nodded at the rest of the letter, slightly thankful that the Kazekage would be willing to look after the boy. The old man was positive the boy needed something different in his life. If he could give the boy protection and still have Naruto receive a fresh start, he was willing to try.

"Speak of this mission to no one. You are dismissed." The Jounin saluted and disappeared.

-o-

The first thing Naruto felt was his stomach grumbling. His face was scrunched and he slowly opened his eyes. He saw something colorful in front of him and smiled that it was orange. He sat up and looked around. He was no longer in the office like last time. He had slept on a real bed. It was getting dark outside, and Naruto wondered if he slept for a whole day. It would be the first time the hyper boy would have slept past noon. He moved his neck and it popped, at which point he said "Owwwww…" Naruto looked at the clothes and smiled widely.

"Orange!"

Naruto admired the new orange shirt and the black pants. he loved the pants as much as the shirt. The seam had a thin orange strip run along its length. He ran to the bathroom and bathed not thinking that he was intruding on anyone since the bathroom connected only to the room he had slept in. He slipped on the new clothes and smiled widely. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders and a new one placed on. He was the prison for the demon fox Kyuubi that had attacked the village on the day he was born. The Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to seal the demon away for ever, and he happened to be the object that the fox was sealed into.

The boy laughed at the idea that he was a hero to the old man. He didn't do anything and he knew he was not great. But the old man appreciated him in a way no one has before. Naruto thought the loosing of his safe place worth while to have gained the respect of the Hokage of the village.

He ran out of the bath room and out of the bed room and through the mansion. It was larger than the apartment complex that he had lived in and all the rooms were connected to hall ways instead of out door passages. He giggled when he slid on the shiny wooden floor and hit a wall. He rubbed his head and laughed again when he found railing that went down two floors and proceeded to slide down it.

Naruto was having the time of his life, and he did it thinking that life will get better now that he has an old man as a friend.

-o-

At the same time on the other side of the village a small girl sat on an abandoned door step. She had been crying none stop for the past few days. The boy she admired had disappeared. She learned later that his apartment was caught on fire and people tried to kill him. What scared her most were the cold stares she received when asking about the boy named Naruto. She finally couldn't stand it when she gathered the courage to ask her father. He snapped at her to not worry about things that did not concern her and to concentrate on her training. She was lagging behind her cousin.

Hinata was forced to ignore her feelings until the end of practice. But as soon as it was over she fled the Hyuuga compound. She couldn't stand the cold look her father gave her. Hinata finally lost hope in finding out what had happened to the boy she had always watched in class. The class clown.

"Who is there?" asked a harsh voice. Hinata gasped and looked up to see a scowling black haired boy staring down at here. "This is the Uchiha Clan's home, you shouldn't be here."

Hinata looked at him and started to cry again. Uchiha Sasuke looked at the girl in confusion. He stood their waiting for the girl to walk away. When Hinata finally slowed her crying she glared at the boy. "You are just like them too aren't you! You don't even care he is gone." She stood up and started to hit the slightly taller boy. She was crying again and Sasuke softened his gaze at her. He knew what it was like to cry like that. He spoke when she slowed down and just concentrated on crying.

"What are you talking about?"

Hinata just shook her head. "Naruto! He is in our class you never noticed he has been gone the past few days?" Sasuke looked at her in between disgust and shock.

"He probably just dropped out, or at least skipped class."

Hinata shook her head again. She did not want to think about it but said, "His home was burned three days ago! I don't even know if he is alive!" Sasuke let his arms drop to his sides and looked at her in shock.

"That can't… someone would have said something…"

"NO! I tried to ask! All I get are people who hate him. I can't find anyone who cares!" Hinata was just huddled on the ground. She sniffed loudly. Sasuke sighed. He had no idea why he would want to help this girl, but he remembered his own family who had died over a year ago. He ignored the righteous anger and concentrated on the pain of his classmate.

Sasuke replayed what she just said and was confused. Why would anyone hate the prankster enough to try and kill him. Did they kill him? "Let's go see the Hokage." Sasuke said confidently.

"Now?" The Hyuuga sniffed.

"Come on, I don't think he would have left his office yet, we can catch him if we hurry." Sasuke grabbed the girls hand and began to run dragging her until she was able to keep up. Hinata looked at the boy and smiled her thanks. They would find out what happened to Naruto now.

The two children made their way across town moving as fast as they could. The most direct route was through the shopping arcade which was unfortunately busy this time of evening. Hinata tucked her head down ignoring questions being asked towards them when they ran by. When they finally made it through the main street, it was getting late and adults looked at the two curiously. Hinata and Sasuke slowed and panted when they could see the entrance to the Hokage Tower. Sasuke nodded to Hinata and they both walked to the entrance. A single ANBU stood at the door and his mask lowered slightly to the two children. The man made them both shiver. Hinata looked at Sasuke helplessly.

Sasuke gave silent sigh. "Excuse me?" The ANBU wore a mask of a bird. Behind the mask the ANBU looked at the two suspiciously. "We wanted to know if we could see the Sandaime Hokage."

The ANBU raised his eyebrows, surprised that children would want to see the Hokage at this hour. He looked at the darkening sky. No one would try and seek the Hokage at this hour. "I am sorry he has already left for the night."

Both children looked down at this. They then turned each other and back up to the man. "Can you tell us anything about Naruto? He has been gone for a few days."

The man smiled at the two kids. The kids just earned his respect. "I am sorry but I do not have any information I can give you about any child."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow but nodded and dragged Hinata away. The girl was ready to ask another question. She was scared of the masked man at first but had been slowly building the courage to ask him something. She squeaked when the Uchiha grabbed her elbow and pulled her away. Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "Thank you for your time, we will come back tomorrow."

Hinata was still huffing indignantly when Sasuke let her go. When she turned to yell at him he placed a finger over her lips. She ignored the tingling sensation from the touch. The Hyuuga heiress rarely had physical contact others, the most would be the hits from her father or cousin during practice.

"The ANBU guy gave us a few clues Hinata-san." Hinata slowly nodded for him to continue, she lost all of the anger she had and Sasuke lowered his finger that had silenced her. "He said he does not 'have information he can give any child'. He knows what's going on but he can't tell us. If it isn't information that is days old, that means Naruto should be alive. We are just not allowed to see him. Another big one is that if the Hokage was gone, why is he still guarding the door? There must be some meeting or something that he turned us away for."

Hinata nodded feeling better by the minute. "I can try again tomorrow then. I will go right after scho- No, I can't. Father wants me to train as soon as I get home." Hinata felt like crying again.

"I can do it, but it would be better if we do it during the day."

Hinata gasped, "Yo-you mean skip class?" Her voice was filled with fear and her hands covered her mouth. "I don't know if I can do that. My father would surely…"

Sasuke looked at her. "Do you want to know what happened to the brat or not?" Hinata looked at the ground and nodded. She looked back at him. Her eyes and mouth firmed into determination.

"It can't be that bad if Naruto and those other boys skip out all the time."

Sasuke actually laughed at the expression, it did not look natural on her. "That's better. Let's meet up after the third class right before lunch. No one will miss us then." Sasuke shivered as he said it. Some where two girls sneezed.

Hinata nodded. "Thank you for helping me, I don't know what I would do if I…" Hinata choked back another sob and wiped away the non-existent tear.

"We will find out what happened. Get going, if you are as worried about your father as I think you are. It's late."

Hinata eep'ed and ran home waving back to him. Sasuke looked at the girl and let the corners of his mouth turn upwards. He sighed. It felt good to do something other than wallow about his brother. He turned towards the main streets. He had some questions he needed answered about the attack on Naruto. The sobs of the Hyuuga girl on his porch were still fresh in his mind.

It was with little effort and questions that he found himself in front of a burned complex. The place was cornered off from others to enter. Sasuke looked at the area and saw this street was more of a dirt alley. The only apartment that had an entrance at all was the one with the scorch marks. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to where he came from. Like any Uchiha, Sasuke considered himself a genius among geniuses. Even if he had grown into adulthood with the clan alive and well, he would not see how his view would be seen as arrogance all. He shook his head at the people of the village. They really wanted to appease the Uchiha. He had wondered at their condescending tone about Naruto. The village seemed to open up to him who hated it, and close to Naruto who wanted it. Sasuke turned from the villagers who were blocks away and back to the complex.

The real damage was the single apartment. Sasuke jumped over the fenced off entrance and over the steps to the second level. The door was locked. He looked at how close the buildings were and took a step back before breathing to keep his nerves steady. He ran and jumped off the stairs and planted his feet in a dead run on the side of the nearest building. He kept running while trying to keep his arms balancing himself. When he thought he was close enough to the next building he jumped again and smiled when the hole from the fire was within jumping distance. He ran several more steps against the second building's wall and flew inside the burnt apartment. His feet slipped when he made contact with the floor and he fell in an unceremonious thump.

Sasuke sighed while not bothering to get up immediately. He was not as agile as he wanted to be but was surprised that he was able to get himself inside with out scaling up walls. He sat up and dusted himself off. At the first step the floor creaked. HE looked at the floor witheringly. He stepped towards the center and felt the floor buckle slightly. When nothing appeared ready to collapse, he proceeded to move around the apart, albeit slowly and carefully. The Uchiha looked around the living room and saw several pots on the ground. One had water in it still. He knelt and touched the soot on the ground, it was still sludge like. "The idiot knew there was a fire, he tried to put it out…"

Sasuke entered the kitchen and saw that most of it was covered in smoky residue. The brat could have easily left. Sasuke thought about it a second and shook his head. The door opened to a passage that went back down to the front where what ever started the fire.

"He couldn't leave. Not by the front door at least." Sasuke looked through the house and saw that it was very clean. The only trash he found that was not in the trashcan was the instant ramen cups next to the bed mat in the next room. He saw no other doors or windows. "This is a really small apartment." Sasuke said to himself. He never lived in something this small before and wondered how anyone would be able to and not feel scared of such closed spaces. He looked at the bed room and snorted at the orange clothes. When he made a full circle around the apartment Sasuke nodded to himself. "He must have been on his own longer than I have." Sasuke had not had much contact with the other boy, but knew that he was loud and a prankster. Sasuke smiled slightly. Naruto was probably as lonely as he was.

He went back to the front room where the fire started. He touched the wall and the window sills that were still in tact. He followed the black marks and noticed that the explosion started from the kitchen, but the fire started from the burns near where a window was supposed to be. "That fire didn't come from a jutsu. So at least it wasn't a ninja who tried to start the fire." Sasuke concentrated hard on the scene to find something he was missing. His eyes felt as if they refocused and he looked around the room again carefully. He saw broken glass that did not come from a window and looked at it. It was a rounded lip of glass. "A bottle?" He sniffed the glass it smelled like simple wax. "A candle."

He looked at the window and down to the ground outside. "There was a group watching. But I seen a lot of people who watch things burn after everyone got out." Sasuke finally rubbed his eyes, they were hurting him. When he looked around again, Sasuke sighed. He wouldn't find anything else for now. He walked to the front door opened it and locked it on his way out.

Before he left, Sasuke looked at the ground. The place had not been disturbed since the fire and there was no rain. Sasuke could easily see the imprints on the ground. There were dozen pairs of shoe imprints. Sasuke suddenly remembered where he stood inside the house. He walked to where the people crowded. His eyes stung while he looked for some idea of how everything happened. None of the imprints looked like they belonged to a ninja. And they were older. They had cleaner markings where soot had less time to settle on them.

Sasuke felt he just found something important before he realized, the only way these prints could have been made was during the fire. Soot would not fall on these prints until after they were made. "They all stood around to watch…." The horror in the boys' voice shook him more than the revelation did. The villagers came to watch Naruto burn. He took a step back and stumbled. His mind was numb.

"Who is there?" A man from the building behind him opened his second floor window and down to the boy. "Who are you and what are you doing?"

Sasuke had not felt so much rage until the day after his brother killed his clan. When that truth finally settled on him, he swore he would kill his brother. This rage was just as potent. Was the village worth the effort to protect if they would so readily kill their own children? Sasuke stood up and looked at the man in the window. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke." The man looked at the boy and cringed. The boys red eyes were very unsettling.

"Sorry Uchiha-san, I just did not want another disturbance like the one that _Naruto_ boy caused when he started that fire." The man ducted into his window again and closed the blinds.

Sasuke felt the rage die in him. He looked at the window the man retreated into. Sasuke had a look of complete disgust and sadness.

Sasuke began to turn home. At the steps to the gate Sasuke looked at the collapsed portion of the apartment. With a final nod of what he needed to do in the morning, Sasuke walked away to his compound. He would find his answers tomorrow.

-o-

Naruto woke up in time for breakfast the next day. He bathed put on his cloths form last night and happily saw the old man at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. "Hey old man!" Naruto said happily.

The Third Hokage smiled. "I am glad to see you so high in spirits. Come, during breakfast we have many things to discuss." The boy nodded happily. They two entered the large banquet hall and both sat at a corner of the smaller tables. Breakfast turned out to be beef ramen. The boy did not need any prompting and started eating immediately. The Hokage took off his hat and set it on the floor next to him. He too finally started eating. After a moment a servant entered with another bowl of ramen for the boy.

"The Ayame of Ichiraku woke up early this morning to make this for you."

Narutos' smile widened and said around a swallow, "I am going to have to thank her when I visit next time." He was through his second bowl when another servant delivered another bowl looking at the child in disbelief.

The Sandaime laughed. "I wanted to talk to you about your request Naruto." The boy slowed down and set the bowl down and wiped his face. He looked sad preparing for the worst.

The Hokage placed a warm hand on the boys shoulder. "A fellow village has agreed to over see your protection until you are ready to become a genin and properly protect yourself. When that time comes, you will be able to return. You _are _able to come back at any time. Remember that if you find it is not what you wanted. You do have people here waiting for you."

Naruto nodded slowly. When he looked up again he smiled. "Maybe I can make friends in this other village."

The Third smiled and nodded.

-o-

The next morning Sasuke gently passed Hinata a crumpled ball of paper while they walked past each other to their first class. Hinata sat in the corner away from the others. She had always been afraid the other children would not like her, and they always got angry when she tried to talk. She just got to nervous and would stutter. She was grateful for her nervousness for the first time in her life. There were only two other students in front of her and no one sitting next to her. She unrolled the paper and looked back and Sasuke and saw two girls who were noisy. Both sighed dreamily at Sasuke. She looked at Sasuke and couldn't help but giggle at the look of annoyance in his face. She looked back down to the letter and reread it.

_Meet fifty meters south of the east gate. There is a tree that is on the outside fence of the school grounds. I'll meet you in the tree. I need to get rid of a few pests at lunch._

Hinata smiled again when the two girls started pick at each other and disturbing class. Sasuke looked at her through the corner of his eye. They both smiled slightly. The blonde girl and the pink haired girl both swooned, thinking the smile was for them. The class stopped again when they got out of hand. Hinata couldn't help but giggle again.

When the lunch bell rang, several students got out their lunches and ate there. She saw Sasuke run out the door with the two girls chasing after him. She smiled slightly at the display. She stood up silently and made for the door before anyone asked questions. Hinata never left her seat during lunch.

She walked out to the door and outside where other students were eating and chatting. She stopped near a tree that was close to where the gate was. She closed her eyes and concentrated. _Byakugan_ She looked around to make sure no one was looking and jumped strait up and used the trees to get over the gate and ran to the tree where she would meet Sasuke. She jumped inside and squatted. She sighed when she realized she was really ditching class. She leaned against the trunk where it met the branch she sat on and waited for Sasuke.

Sasuke immediately fled for the door when the bell rang. As soon as he was out of the room he heard, "Sasuke-kun wait!" He broke into a run and headed for the stairs.

"Ino-pig! I saw him first!" Sasuke didn't need to hear the two to know they were in pursuit. He sprinted up the stairs and entered one of the classrooms which were thankfully empty. Three hand seals later a bushin was outside the door and ran around the corner as the girls made it to the second floor. "SASUKE-KUN!" Both girls cried in unison. They both broke into a run and the Uchiha breathed out relieved to have the nuisances gone. He looked at the window and smirked. He was on the south side of the school and they forest came right up to the school. He opened the window and jumped to the nearest tree. He gripped it solidly and hopped up to a higher branch. He saw the girls call his name again and he saw them run around on the third floor thinking he went to the other stair case.

"Idiots." Sasuke turned and moved from tree to tree until he found himself sharing a tree with the quiet Hyuuga. "Yo!"

"Hello Uchiha-san."

"You look too nervous for your own good. Take a deep breath and let's get going. We got thirty minutes to get to Hokage Tower before the teachers notice we are gone."

"Un" Hinata nodded.

They both jumped down from the tree and sprinted towards the Tower.

-o -

"I will write old man. I promise." Naruto stood in front of the Hokage with several people Naruto had come to know over his time in Konoha. Next to the Hokage were Ayame and her father, Ichira, the owner of his favorite Ramen shop. They both smiled at him.

"Were there anyone else you wished to say good bye to Naruto?" The Sandaime asked.

Naruto looked up with half closed eyes. He thought about it for a moment before he shook his head. "No one I know real well." Sandaime nodded and two ANBU escorts helped with the child's luggage. They headed out of the office to load the wagon and see Uzumaki Naruto off to the Sand Village.

-o -

Hinata and Sasuke made it to the Tower and saw two ANBU standing over a wagon. They both stopped not sure if they would be taken back to the school with out so much as an explanation. Hinata looked at Sasuke and huffed. She grabbed him by the hand and they both marched towards the ANBU.

The ANBU themselves looked at the two kids and chuckled slightly. "Do I even want to know why two children are out of school at this time of day."

"Suzume said there were two children who wanted to know about Naruto last night."

"They have good timing." Neither one looked away from the children as they stood in front of them. "How may we help you, children of Hyuuga and Uchiha?"

Both students paused. Neither one of them were too thrilled to being identified so easily. But Hinata spoke up. "We wanted to speak with the Sandaime about Naruto." She breathed out and then added. "Please." As soon as she said it out loud she felt her shoulders slouch and her head tucked down slightly back to her normal timid self.

Both ANBU looked at each other. They worked well enough to know they were both silently laughing through their masks. "The Sandaime is in a meeting now. He should actually be coming down these steps in a few minutes. Why don't you wait here? I don't think you would get into too much trouble out here as in there." He had his thumb pointed inside the Hokage Tower. Both students nodded and moved to the side and stood waiting to speak with the Hokage.

Sasuke felt himself get nervous before he shook it off. He had a lot of questions to ask the Hokage, and if he wanted answers he needed to at least be confident or the Hokage might not take him seriously. And there was always the possibility that the Hokage didn't like Naruto. More horrid thoughts ran through his head while he waited.

Hinata shifted from one foot to the other. Her face was bright red. She had never spoken so rudely to anyone before. She antagonized how she forgot etiquette and tacked on that late please. She would already be in trouble for skipping class, if her father found out how rude she was to anyone… And this guy was an ANBU! The protectors of the village!

Both children looked up when they heard the doors open. Hinata ran through all the words she would say and lost them as soon as she saw who was walking with the old man. "Naruto!" The girl was so happy to see him she ran and gave him hug.

"Eh? Hinata?"

Hinata looked at him, gasped and let go. Her face was bright red and Sasuke humphed at the two.

"Eh? What's this?" Naruto looked at the two kids.

Hinata's face was still bright red and she moved her fingers together nervously. "W-we were worried about you when we found out about your home caught fire."

Naruto opened his eyes fully. He was completely surprised anyone in school would even care he was gone. He looked at the two and the smile he had on his face refused to budge. "Heh, sorry I worried you Hinata-chan. Sasuke right?"

Sasuke nodded. "I was curious more than worried." He looked at the boy and they both saw that the lie was more for Hinata. He smirked. "I was more worried about the girl."

Both boys grinned. Hinata simply stayed red and looked back and forth between the two boys unsure how to respond. She was saved when the Sandaime placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"This is a pleasant surprise. You have caught him just as he was ready to depart."

"You're leaving!" asked Hinata. She looked at Naruto before she promptly realized she shouted the last part. "Sorry I-"

Naruto smiled widely for her. "Nothing to it. The old man and I decided it would be good for me to leave the village and visit other villages until I am ready to take the genin exam." He looked at Sasuke and the Uchiha's calculating eyes looked back.

"But that is still a few years…" Hinata protested.

"Not that long. I'll be back before you know it."

Sasuke looked to the old man and wondered what the Hokage was playing at. He looked at Naruto and nudged his head for Naruto to speak privately. Naruto nodded and moved to speak quietly with Sasuke. Hinata, being afraid to let Naruto go, followed. Sasuke looked at the girl to go away. She merely clenched her fist and stood next to Naruto.

Sasuke smirked at her and nodded before saying. "What is going on Naruto? I saw the sight where you lived." Naruto sucked in a breath of air. "I could tell what happened. Why are you leaving? If it was just because you have no home, I am not accepting it. Everyone I met has a problem with you. Why?"

Naruto looked at the ground. He was so happy moments before when he found two people his age that cared about him to look for the Hokage. Now they wanted to know information that might turn them against him. He looked at the two of them and said before he thought. "I just found out myself. And I can't tell you. It's a village secret. But think about your question and my birthday. Don't believe everything you read in history." He looked to Hinata who nodded sadly and her eyes showed signs of tearing up. Naruto then looked to Sasuke. "You saw my home and probably know what happened. You have all the clues you need to find out the secret. Just think why people would not want to help me…" Naruto stopped and felt the pain in his chest. He looked at the two and felt his heart wrench. "When you find out, send me a letter. If you want to be my friends after that or hate me, I want to find out face to face."

Naruto turned to the Hokage and nodded to him before getting into the wagon. Hinata and Sasuke looked stunned for a moment before they turned back to the strange boy with a village secret. Hinata saw the driver get in and ran to Naruto. She got one step into the wagon and gave him a hug. "We'll see you when you are ready to become a genin."

Naruto smiled back. He let his arms go around her uncomfortably. He never hugged a girl before. Naruto whispered into her ear. "Sooner if you two figure it out Hinata-chan."

Hinata jumped off before stepping next to Sasuke. Sasuke and Hinata watched the wagon pull away with Naruto waving back to the two of them enthusiastically. Sasuke thought of something, "Hey baka! Where are you going?" They would not be able to send a letter if they didn't know where he was going to live.

Naruto smiled and shouted out. "The Hidden Village of the Sand!"

Hinata waved and smiled back to the boy she cared about and grinned to the one next to her. The two would figure out Naruto's secret.

-o -

The Kazekage looked at his village and breathed in the dry heated air. His home of the sands and dunes was a gorgeous and prosperous place. Soon he would have another demon in his village's midst's. If this boy was as powerful as he thought, then he could either shape his own son through example or train the Kyuubi child to kill his son Gaara.

Isolation of the Kyuubi demon would be easy enough. The villagers were informed of the boys impending arrival and already they were weary of any of their children dieing to the foreigners hands. Better Gaara's than some monster demon fox that had lived for thousands of years.

The Kazekage looked at the scroll he held in his hand. His son killed another villager. The Kage smiled. The boy had already developed a penchant for killing anyone who is in his way. If the Kage was skillful enough he would be able to kill both his son and the Kyuubi or have them both under his control by the time the two children were Shinobi.

- - -End Chapter 1 Secrets- - -

A/N: Well this was a spur of the moment idea that kind of took off on its own. It's actually a rejected Harry Potter plot I had, but I don't see much of that plot in here anymore so oh well.

This was edited with a real opening instead of the generic opening I wrote for it when I initially released the chapter. Each chapter is more episodic with a beginning middle and end for each chapter.

April 7, 2010


	2. Chapter 2 fear

Chapter 2 Fear

Gaara stood next to his siblings. The lecture was slowly passing an hour and all three of them were aching to leave. Gaara looked at the adult and wondered if it would be easier to simply kill him. It was certainly more fun to see his mothers' sand drink human blood than it was to listen to the droning noise. He held his chin high and let his mind concentrate on the room. It had been used before as part of the academy. The new school was built five years ago. Gaara looked at a corner where the sand rock had slowly begun to break down. He smiled inwardly. All he would have to do is turn that loose sand into a needle… The sand around Gaara's body lashed back and forth at the thought. The Jounin looked at the sand anxiously before dismissing them.

Gaara walked to the exit glaring at his brother and sister, daring them to say a word for their hour of wasted time. Both looked at him with respect then gave a parting glance of annoyance to the man they were dismissed by.

"What are you going to do Kankuro?" Temari was eight years old and she already received her training fan. It was confinscated but the waist strap hung loosely like a belt breaking apart her dark blue shirt and shorts. At the moment she was not able to use it as punishment for not watching out for her younger brothers. Kankuro just shrugged and walked out the door. The other two kids followed him. "Gaara? What about you?" Temari ignored the sand that flicked the air around her baby brother. A few years ago she would not have cared. He was sad but at least he wouldn't kill people. Well… not intentionally. Now he would simply kill someone for asking the wrong question.

Gaara slowed to a stop and said in a monotone voice. "I am going out for a walk." His head turned to look over his shoulder and Temari did her best not to look frightened at the glare.

Temari raised her hands in surrender and nodded. "I am sorry, I just don't want to listen to the old windbag again, and thought we could find something for you to train with if you wanted to blow off steam." Gaara raised his head a fraction. Gaara walked ahead of them and out the building, leaving his siblings behind.

Temari watched him go and exhaled when she felt he was out of hearing range. "What are we going to do with him?"

Kankuro patted her back. "It's is ok Temari, I can't imagine what he is going through, we just have to wait and see if he will come around." Temari nodded but knew he would never come around. How can someone go back to family he would never admit to have? "I just wish we had our brother, not the angry boy everyone says is a monster."

Kankuro remained silent and sat on the bench.

Out the door and down the hall entrance the brother in question listened patiently. Gaara moved away when they were done talking. He did not know what to think about his brother and sister. They just appeared after the first time his father, the Kazekage, tried to kill him. It still hurt to think of the man that had he thought loved him as a father was the first assassin. He wondered if the sudden appearance of his siblings were a way for his father to try and control him. Gaara ignored that idea. He would never care about anyone else again. 'Love your self' was sand blasted onto his forehead as a reminder to never trust, never love and never spare the weak.

The sun was reaching its zenith and it would soon be at its hottest in an hour. Gaara walked around during this time. It was quiet and no one would be out in the sun. Noon and midnight were his preferred times to walk about the village. No one dared cross his path. And no sounds ran through the air to disturb him. He would happily not bother anyone if they would get out of his way. Gaara turned to a group of children his age playing in a dirt field. The oasis was half a mile down the main road and at the center of the City. And from the center to a mile and a half there was soil instead of sand. The children played with the cover of the rare trees that pock marked the village. Gaara sat down at the corner of the building and watched the children play. He wondered why at one point in his early childhood why he wanted to join them. The children played on, blissfully unaware of the danger that was watching over them.

- o -

The wagon slowly pulled to a stop. Naruto looked at the sand made buildings in wonder. He had never seen anything that was not built with wood or rock. Every structure in this village was made of hard compressed sand.

Uzumaki Naruto jumped off the wagon and looked to the sand two Nin who were escorting him. Each one leveled him a glare of clear annoyance. Naruto simply smiled at them. "Thanks for the ride! It was fun." The trip from Konoha Village to Suna Village was the perfect example of fun. He was able to learn lot from the days travel. He played a few pranks on a sand Nin and the wagon driver and was even able to learn the ninja replacement technique, kawarimi no jutsu. The only problem he had was the pain in his stomach for the past few days. It started the day after they entered wind country. He figured it was something he ate and ignored it. His stomach was quiet all day, and Naruto was glad his stomach ache passed.

Naruto grinned at the ninjas escorting him. The ninja ignored the smile and pushed the orange wearing boy to start walking. The group started in a direction that led to the tallest building in the village. Naruto simply smiled and humm'ed along the way.

The Sand Nins themselves would be happy when this mission was over. None of them have ever experienced such an annoyingly happy child. Always with the questions and the kid never sat down to rest. At one point in their six day march, the boy jumped off the cart and jogged along with them to entertain himself. Few of the Nins grudgingly respected the child's stamina. He had kept pace with them and had never managed to look tired every night when they camped.

The boy rarely complained and when he did it was only once for every problem. He appeared to be more interested in smiling like a fool.

Naruto walked into the Kazekage Tower. He saw the glass doors and was tempted to take another look when they went through them. He decided against it. The sand-nin did not look like they would appreciate the attention he was giving to the details of sand village craftsmanship. Naruto grinned and ran up the stairs that the sand Nin was pushing him towards. After the first flight of steps he saw that each floor had windows to over see the village. He laughed as he sprinted up to the next floor to get a better view of the village and whistled while his escorts took the steps at a normal pace.

"Over here boy, five more flights of stairs." The Nin waved his hand for the boy to come back to the stairs. Naruto managed to pull himself away from the view of the oasis and grinned widely. Before the escort could look at him with a twinge of annoyance and exasperation, the Uzumaki boy ran up the several flights of stairs giggling wildly.

Naruto stopped at the eighth floor and gasped when he saw that the stairs entered into a hall way and then to a grand room. The outer wall was solid glass and Naruto could see the whole south side of the village. He walked slowly to the window and the village was a light beige color pocked marked with greens, blues, browns and the whole sky line was bright white from the sand, and then changed to a deep blue at the horizon. Naruto just gaped at the sight.

"It is a wonderful sight isn't it?" Naruto snapped his eyes from the village view to the man at his side. Naruto screamed and fell to the floor. He did not even notice the guy next to him when the man arrived. He wore white robes and a white hat with markings of blue. He took off the hat and the dark tanned man with a square jaw met Naruto's eyes. "It is mine too. I come here when I need to relax." The man extended his hand to Naruto who turned red for falling on the floor. He took the man's hand and got back on his feet. When Naruto released his hand, the man would not let him go. He smiled at the boy and said, "Kazekage at your service. Welcome to the Village of the Sand." The Kazekage let go of the boys hand and turned back to the view. Naruto smiled at him and turn back to it as well.

A cough came from behind the two after a few minutes. The Kage sighed loud enough for Naruto to hear and winked at the boy. "How may I help my honored guards?"

"Kazekage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto's luggage is placed in his apartment, and your children would be due to arrive in four hours for the banquet."

"Thank you Kenpa. You and your escort are dismissed." The man saluted and he and his men at the door walked off.

The Kage looked down to the boy and then pulled out a small wrist band from his pocket. "You are free to wander the village for the first four days. Come this Monday, you will continue your studies to be a ninja with the students of the village." He handed the small writs band to Naruto who took it reverently. It was a small time piece with two hands moving slowly. One arm looked to be made of sand, and the other made of water. He looked up from the amazing watch to the Kage. "That is a gift from me to you. When both arms are aligned on the six, the banquet being held tonight will commence. Please be half an hour early. I will have someone show you to your apartment tonight after dinner." The Kage tilted his head slightly and Naruto knew he was being dismissed. He awkwardly returned the bow and walked out the door looking at his watch. Once outside Naruto put on his watch and put his arms behind his head. He hmmed for a few moments. "Let's see the water!" He laughed as he ran again to find the sparkling water he saw from the tower.

Above him the Kage watched the boy Naruto run off. He grinned at the child and knew it would not take much to sway the boy. He turned back to his duties with his plans for the two demon-boys in his mind.

-o-

It took half an hour for Naruto to find the water. When he did, he gave a loud "Whoa." The water was sparkling from the white sand at the bottom of the water. The place was surrounded by trees as tall as his old apartment and on one side there was heavy traffic from the only road to the actual pond. He sat at the base of a tree and just stared at the water. It moved back and forth and Naruto eventually had to look away since it was getting him sick. After a few minutes of smelling the crisp air, he stood left to find something else to do. He glanced up the road and saw what looked like a school. He decided to head in that direction. He might not be the best student but he knew that he could outlast anyone in a game he played during breaks in between class.

Naruto looked around when he passed the shopping center. Several people looked at him from the corner of their eyes. He sighed. They must have known what he was. Naruto let his shoulders fall thinking there would be no escape from people here. After ten minutes of looking at the ground he heard a man said, "just like the other one…." Naruto raised his head slightly and saw that the man did not look at him in hate like the villagers of the Konoha. They gazed at him with a look of uncertainty… and fear. Naruto started looking around again. No one here hated him. They were just afraid. He sighed slightly and started to smile again and walk through the crowd. He did not notice they parted for him. Naruto felt he could live with fear and uncertainty. Fear he can handle. And uncertainty… he could reassure them by just being himself.

Naruto felt his stomach rumble and wanted to know when he could eat something when he turned a corner and fell flat on his face. He got up slowly and he heard something hiss at him. His body was suddenly in the air and slammed into a wall. He coughed hard and tried to breathe. He barely opened his eyes and saw sand in the shape of a hand stapled him to the wall four feet off the ground. He saw a small boy glare at him. Sand whipped by the red haired child. He wore simple brown clothes and sand that gathered at his feet fed the hand that held Naruto. "I should kill you."

Naruto looked at the boy in surprise. From what he had seen of the villagers, the dark red hair was odd for the area, and his eyes had heavy bags under them. "For what?" Naruto had meet adults who hated him but never met a kid his own age make that same glare. It was more unnerving than he thought it would be.

The boy snarled out. "You kicked me!" He pointed to the corner where he sat. Naruto looked at it and a corner of his mouth went up. He winced when the hand squeezed him but his giggles finally burst into full out laughter. The boy lost the edge to his glare. "What?" The sand boy asked.

Naruto still snickered when he said, "Sorry I tripped over you."

The boy glared and the sand constricted a fraction. Naruto snorted trying not to laugh. "Keep laughing, it will be the last thing you will do." The boy raised his hand.

"O.K." Naruto burst into gales of laughter. The boy lowered his arm and looked at the boy with confusion. He had met one other person who laughed as he killed him. But that was laughter of insanity. This was pure mirth.

The sand boy glared at him and let him off the wall. "What is so funny about you 'tripping' over me?" He still glared at Naruto and was ready to kill the other boy after he answered.

"Well, First, I came to this village so I wouldn't die. Old man must have gotten that wrong. Two when you were sitting on the ground, you can't be taller than my waist right? I am just an inch taller than you." The small boy nodded slightly annoyed that his short stature was pointed out. "How old are you kid?"

The sand boy huffed and then said, "six."

Naruto grinned. "Me too. But the village I came from, I am the shortest guy there."

The sand boy glared. The sand responded to him and quickly wrapped Naruto into a cocoon. Naruto still grinned, not really worried about the threats. They were just threats right? "As I was saying, since I was the shortest I was always told that the best I could expect as a ninja was to die by someone who would just squish me like a grape." Naruto looked at the sand that was slowly squeezing him. He snorted again. He then howled in laughter. "I guess they were right but I never thought it would be by someone smaller than me!"

The sand boy just looked at him and let the sand go. "You aren't even worth the effort of killing, you're nuts."

Naruto snorted but nodded his head. "I been told that too. Uzumaki Naruto." He stretched out his hand. The boy looked at it as if it was a deadly disease. The sand boy just shook his head at the blonde. "Ok, ok, I get it." Naruto smiled for a moment before he looked at the sand slowly move around the boy. He stared at it for a moment before he squatted in front of the other boy and poked it.

"What are you doing?" Sand began to cover Naruto who was invading the boy's personal space. Naruto never noticed the sand forming into sharp spikes and ready to pierce the happy boys' body.

"How do you do that?" Naruto poked the sand again. He cupped some in his hand, it was normal sand. It then began to float up his hand and around his body. He never tense as it floated up his neck or around his head and over his heart. He just played with it.

The sand boy glared and was carefully reconsidering the effort needed to kill the intruder. Naruto looked at him with true interest. The boy glared at him again but said, "I don't. The sand moves on its own. I have only some control over what I can and can't do with it."

Naruto opened his eyes wide in wonder. "Wow, that's something." Naruto continued to look at the sand. The boy began to lower his guard. The sand boys head was swimming. No one dared speak to him unless absolutely necessary. If they did try and speak to him, they would be killed or tolerated just long enough to know what they have to say. Each of them would fear him and leave as quickly as possible. Adults, children even his brother and sister.

"I wonder if I can do something like that."

Naruto brought the boy out of his thoughts. "Not likely."

Naruto stood up and looked around and was disappointed that there was no other sand around. "Well looks like I would have to try when I am on the outer side of the village. This is a great village though!" Naruto smiled back at the kid who continually felt off balance by the orange wearing intruder. "I just got here a few hours ago. I saw the oasis, the market, the Kazekage tower, mom... I think that was it. I was going to see the school when I ran into you. I am sorry about that." He added.

The boy shook his head. "You don't shut up do you?"

"Not unless I am hit on the head by my teacher, no not really. You want to show me where the school is? I start there next week. Err- are you in school? How far are you? If the sand is a complicated jutsu then you should be close to graduating as a genin right?"

The boy looked at him with renewed suspicion. He was asking too many questions. He knew his father wanted him dead. The assassination attempts were proof of that. The boy wondered if this new boy was an assassin as well. He looked at Naruto with a twitching brow. Smiled back blissfully unaware how close he was to certain death. Not likely. "I am in school, two years until I would graduate. I think. The sand is a jutsu I was born with. But I am skilled in using it."

Naruto smiled at him impressed. "That's so awesome! You will become a genin when you are eight?"

The boy sighed exasperatedly. "Yes." The sand suddenly pooled around the boy and he began to walk away. "If you are going to school next week I will see you there. I am sure you will make enough noise to let everyone know you are there." He flicked a hand in a wave good bye.

"Okay! Later um... kid!" The boy's shoulders went ridged but he kept walking away. If Naruto was observant he would have noticed it was a little fast for a normal walk. Naruto looked at the kid, pleased that he could talk to someone with out their parents glaring at him. The glare the kid had given him was had long since been forgotten.

The sand trick was really neat and Naruto wanted to be sure to try it sometime soon. He might not get it at all but he wanted to try. He looked at his watch and grinned. It was almost time for dinner he looked at the tower and it was a good ten minute walk from his current position.

Naruto ran down to the tower and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. He walked around the lobby of the tower ten minutes later. Ninja were walking back and fourth doing their jobs and Naruto looked along the walls at the murals of the Kazekage history. Each one was a tall man with a square jaw. They all had different shades of hair but the same tan. Naruto smiled wondering if he would get a tan here. All the other people here were dark. There was a tap on his shoulder and the boy turned and grinned at the man who stood before him.

"Hello Kazekage… um –sama."

The Kage smiled. "I will be introducing you to my children. Well one of my children. The other two had run into trouble and are being punished by not participating in the banquet."

Naruto smiled. "Do they get into trouble a lot?"

The man let out a small low laugh. "Each one of them is nothing but trouble. But I can't do much about it since they are my children." The man winked at Naruto who smiled back.

"Who is it I am going to meet then?"

"My youngest son, Gaara. He is your age actually." Naruto smiled. Maybe he could make a second friend in the village soon. When the two entered a hall way the father slowed down and looked at Naruto. "I advise a word of caution on my son Gaara." Naruto looked at him with open eyes. "He has had a hard life. His uncle recently died, and he is particularly hostile to anyone who he does not know. As my son, he is also very strong. He had inadvertently killed someone a few days ago. The death has made him very… withdrawn. Just be careful around him."

Naruto looked at the man and nodded solemnly. The kid must have had a hard life. Naruto smiled then. He had a hard life too; maybe he can help the other boy. Naruto was led down a hall and five shinobi joined the Kage and Naruto. He recognized one of the soldiers as the one from his escort. He smiled at the nin who only snorted in reply. Naruto was unfazed when they entered the banquet hall. They stood only for a few minutes to know where Naruto would sit before the door opened behind him. The Kage saw who entered first. Naruto's stomach ached for a second but it was forgotten when he saw who it was.

"Ah, Naruto, this is my son Gaara."

Naruto turned and saw the red haired boy he met earlier. Everything the Kage had told him slipped his mind. He knew this boy. "Hey! I didn't know you were the Kage's son!" Naruto walked up to the shocked Gaara and moved his hand back to give the sand boy a playful slap on the back. Everyone stood in shock when the offending hand passed the sand and hit the boy who had to take a step forward from the blow. Those who were talking stopped and stared at Naruto. No one save Gaara's nurse had ever touched the boy. Many thought it was physically impossible. But to see a six year old boy do it brought waves of fear to the group who was present. They were here to be introduced to the demon child who would reside in the village for several years. If he had been able to ignore Gaara's sand what kind of monster was he?

"So your name is Gaara. At least now we don't have to wait until school starts to see each other." Gaara stood watching the other boy. He did not know what was more disturbing, the fact that he would have to spend more time than necessary with the loud happy boy, or the fact that the blonde's hand slapped his back. Gaara's back actually still stung. It was the most a painful and unusual sensation Gaara had ever experienced in a physical way. He wanted to glare at the other boy but his father was present. It was for that reason why he was not ready to kill the boy again. The urge left moment later. Gaara thought about what just happened. He did not hear the questions Naruto continued to ask him or the talk and eventual speech his father gave to the audience before the feast.

In the middle of dinner Naruto tapped his shoulder. "Are you alright? You look a little pale." Gaara snapped his head to the new boy. Gaara was scared. That was the second time the boy touched him and the sand did not react. Gaara shook his head and continued to stare at his food. Naruto looked at the slumped form of his friend. He eventually sighed and resumed eating as slowly as possible. Naruto did not want to embarrass himself in front of the nice Kage and his son.

Gaara thought about why the sand did not protect him and then saw a butter knife at his table. His shaking hand took it and he tried to cut his finger. Sand slowly appeared and protected him from the edge. He sighed in relief when he saw the sand was working. He set down the knife and thought about what it meant. The sand had always been there to protect him. Any danger could never touch him thanks to the sand. Even those who had a thought of retaliation because of fear would not be able to physically touch Gaara. That was why up until his uncle, Yashamaru, no one beyond his uncle was able to physically touch the boy. Gaara gasped and tried to drink some water. He looked at the boy next to him with wide eyes. Naruto was again eating some dry meat in sauce. He had some time trying to figure out how to eat them and finally gave up and ate them with the sauce used for his fish. He happily chewed and saw Gaara looking at him. Naruto swallowed and smiled back. Gaara slowly returned the smile. Naruto's grin grew wider then he returned to his dinner with gusto.

Gaara returned to his plate and began to eat as well.

He was sure of it now. The reason Naruto could touch him and not provoke the sand was because there was no doubt in the Naruto's mind that he would never hurt Gaara.

-o-

Dinner ended and the Naruto looked on at the crowd as they left. He had been introduced to the council members and the village representatives. The villagers seemed to already know he was the Kyuubi vessel and so it did not bother him, when he was introduced to all of the leaders of the village as a child who was the vessel. He saw Gaara look at him in surprise after the first introduction to one of the council members. Naruto looked at the red haired boy nervously. There was already a speech about him being a demon holder, but had Gaara not been paying attention? He had looked sick during the beginning of the speech and almost completely through dinner. Gaara was silent and Naruto couldn't help but sigh. At the end of the dinner Gaara pulled him aside. It did not go unmarked by everyone present.

"Yeah Gaara?" Asked Naruto anxiously.

"No one told you about the sand I carry?"

Naruto saw the sand lash around the boy's feet. He shook his head. "I thought it was something you were just born with."

Gaara smiled slightly. "It is, but the sand is the living part of a demon that lives in me."

Naruto looked at him for a moment before he smiled again. "So we are the same! That's neat. I never met another prison guard before. So you can use the power of the demon you have to protect you?" Naruto whistled.

Gaara looked at stared at him in confusion again. He had expected that the new comer would be scared. Gaara _was _using the demon. It was his defense against the world. It was scary for the fact that he had no real control over it, and at the same time empowered him. At least Naruto looked and acted normal. He never had to worry about his demon acting on his feelings or thoughts. "What's wrong Gaara?"

Gaara shook his head and the smile he gave reached his eyes. "Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you knew. Most people don't want to talk about it." Naruto nodded in understanding. He looked over to the Gaara's father who smiled at him and gave him a nod.

Later that night, Naruto finally found himself in a spacious room several blocks away from the tower. The apartment faced south with a large glass pane of a window opening up the living room. There was a kitchen and bedroom with a springy mattress instead of a sleeping mat. Naruto had never been on a bed so his first course of action for the night was to jump on it while laughing madly. He finally collapsed and fell asleep shortly there after.

-o-

The Kazekage looked over the village from his either floor spot late that evening. He sipped the sake in his hand and set it down when there was a knock at his door.

"Enter."

"Pardon me Kazekage-sama, but we have word of several assassins moving through the territory and headed in our direction. Their target appears to be the kyuubi boy."

The Kage was silent for a time. He took another drink of sake and turned his head slightly towards the door. "Let them through. I want to see for myself the power the kyuubi brat has. Follow them, but if it looks as if they are going to kill the boy, kill them."

"And if Uzumaki Naruto-dono dies?" The jounin kept his head low and was nervous in the presence of his Kazekage.

The man laughed. "If the boy can not survive the first attack of assassination on his own, then he was not worth the effort of bringing him here." The kazekage gave his captain the go ahead for security despite his comment.

-o-

The next morning Naruto was wondering around town again and saw several other kids. There were playing a ball game and Naruto started walking towards them to see if he could play. The kids saw him enter the field dirt field and they all stopped to look at the new comer. Several of them were nervous. The kids looked at each other when Naruto stopped a few feet away from them. "Hi I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

The kids looked at him. "We know who you are. Our parents say you're the new demon carrier."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I am here till I graduate. Then I am going back to my village."

The boys slowly looked at each other. "What did you want with us?" Asked one of the larger boys.

"I wanted to know if I could play." Naruto asked with a wide grin.

One of the children shook their head then looked at him nervously. "Sorry, we have the exact number of players."

Naruto nodded. He felt disappointed but did not show it.

"Hey guys hurry up or we are going to be late for class!" The boys ran off the play ground and into the building a block away. Naruto just watched them go. When they were no longer there Naruto let his head go low. He sighed for a moment then looked back up. He looked around and saw Gaara staring at him.

"Hey! Morning!"

Gaara flinched as if he was hit. He gave a slight nervous smile and walked up to Naruto. "They are afraid of you."

Naruto nodded. "I saw that. The adults yesterday were too. The people at the banquet wanted to run away from me as soon as possible."

Gaara lowered his head quietly. "It's my fault. Even as a small kid, I couldn't control the sand well and would kill people. The sand just likes blood."

Naruto looked up at Gaara. He smiled at the boy. "At least you are able to control it now. And I can live with fear. It is a lot better than what I got at my village."

Gaara was about to ask what that was when the second bell rang. He looked at Naruto and shook his head. "I got to go to class. I may be feared, but I still have to follow most rules." Naruto grinned at him. When Gaara was half a block away he turned to Naruto. "I'll be out by 2:30. Go try to mess with the sand until then. I want to see if someone other than me can do this." The sand floated around Gaara.

"Sure thing!" Naruto called as he started to run towards the outer part of town.

-o-

Naruto ran beyond the fenced off area of the oasis and felt his stomach ache again. He stopped and swore at his stomach. The pain came at him again, and the boy realized he wasn't hungry, it was something else. Naruto gasped and stumbled against the wall of an apartment complex. He felt another wave of heat from his stomach again and choked out a moan of pain. His eyes grew blurry and then nothing.

The boy woke up gasping on the floor of a hallway. Mist covered the floor and water dripped from pipes over head. "How did I get to a basement?" Naruto stood up and felt the pain as a sound coming from down the hall. He stumbled for a few moments before he walked normally. The closer he got to the sound the more it sounded like a low growl. Naruto finally came to a door and opened it slowly. The growl was very loud and low. It seemed to shake the room.

The blonde boy gaped at the size of the gate at the far side of the room. It was closed off by a small piece of paper that said seal. "**It is about time you see me brat.**"

Naruto shouted in surprise. He looked at the gate and it did not budge when a snout hit against it. The nose took up the whole gate. When it pulled back Naruto could see two red eyes inside the prison. He thought about it for a second. "You are Kyuubi…"

"**Hmph. Boy I have been calling you for days. It is about time you listened.**"

Naruto didn't like the sound of that. "Why should I listen to you? You are the one trapped in here! Not me!"

The fox laughed. "**That is true. And you do have a point. Why should you listen to me?**" The prison glowed red. Naruto clutched his stomach. It still hurt but he knew now it was the seal over his belly that was causing it. "**You should listen to me because If you die, so do I. I want to make sure to stem that off for a long time… I saw the other demon boy.**" He snarled out.

"What about Gaara?"

"**He could have killed you the first time you met him. And you would have been defenseless. I can not allow that to happen. It is about time you learn take responsibility for your own well being.**"

"What are you talking about you damn fox! I had been taking care of my self for years now!"

The fox gave a mirthless laugh. "**You call being abandoned, left for dead, rescued then banished for your village taking care of yourself? Even now you are out of the protective range of your Hokage. Those who would try to kill you would do so now, when you are away from the village that hates and protected you."**

Naruto clenched his fists and felt tears in his eyes. "I don't care about that! I am still alive and I will live my own way! If you have a problem with Gaara then you are going to have to go through me! He knows what it is like to hold something inside of him. If anything he is like me! And if people come again to try and kill me then bring them on! I will kick their ass. I am tired of not fighting. Next time someone wants to hurt me I am going to hurt them first."

The fox's eyes moved closer by a fraction. His voice let out an amused snort. "**I should tear you apart for your tone boy, but that is what I was looking for. If you have a will to fight then nothing you have will go to waste. Until you are able to defend yourself, I will do it. I can not give you my Chakra and let you handle it. Your small body would simply be ripped to shreds. You need a few more years before you can channel my Chakra with out it killing you."** The two red eyes bore through Naruto. He did not flinch. He looked back at the demon fox with just as much intensity as the fox gave him. There was another amusing snort. "**The sand that protects the boy gave me an idea for me to do something that I can give you. Don't abuse it boy. I can just as easily take it back."** Red Chakra leaked out from the gate and Naruto took a few steps back before the gaseous Chakra flew towards him and enveloped him. Naruto gasped in pain and clutched his stomach. He fell to the floor trying to breathe and tears rolled off his cheeks.

"M-make it stop."

"**Be thankful brat. Even this is asking much from the likes of me.**"

-o-

Naruto woke up leaning against the side of a building. He was sore all over and he looked around. He sighed. "It was just a dream." His stomach grumbled and Naruto laughed. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He glanced at his watch and swore loudly. "It's almost one in the afternoon. I better eat something then go to the lower village." He pulled out some money and counted it carefully. He found a ramen stand the previous day when he walked around town and wanted to try their food first. _Nothing like something familiar to relax. _

Naruto ignored her glances and nervousness when he ordered his first bowl of ramen with beef. He smelled the ramen and sighed happily. He started eating and thought of the people in Konoha. It was really different to have people look at you with fear than it was to have them look at you with hate. Fear gave a small margin of respect. Naruto shrugged of the idea. What was the point of that kind of respect? It just meant that you were dangerous, not that they cared in anything other than their own well being.

Thinking back to that he thought of the few people who did have his respect. The old man Hokage, the Ramen Ichiraku owner and his daughter, there were those ANBU guys too, they all respected him. He smiled when he thought of Sasuke and Hinata-chan. They cared enough to find out where he disappeared to. But it was more scary thinking of them. They did not know about the Kyuubi. Naruto hated himself now for encouraging them to find out.

If Sasuke was able to figure out what happened that day of the attack, then he could easily find out why he was attacked. It was not that hard when you think about it. Adults called him demon to his face, although now he knew they should never have done that.

Naruto hoped they would still care when they find out.

The Kyuubi boy finished his eighth bowl of Ramen and asked for the bill. The woman shook her head and said it was on the house. Naruto looked at the woman who would not look at him. He scowled at her. It made her flinch.

Naruto sighed and looked at the menu and counted the money needed and left some extra. "The rest is a tip for being nice." He left with a wave and didn't see the startled glances several people gave him when he left.

It was almost two o'clock and Naruto still had not reached the sandy area to try out Gaara's trick. He hummed to himself and suddenly felt his stomach go warm. He sighed out loud and hit his belly where the seal was. "Quiet in there you!" The blow made him a little nauseas and Naruto had to swallow back down some of what he just ate. "Bleh." Naruto walked through some high buildings and some narrow walk ways. The steps were steep and went down for almost two blocks. When he came to the foot of the stairs he saw a man cloaked in a white and grey coat run towards him. His face was covered in cloth and he had a head band of a ninja. He pulled out a Kunai and charge at Naruto with the knife raised.

Naruto glared at the man. _This guy is going to try and kill me._ He stood there and remembered some things he had learned from school and along the way here. The man threw his Kunai at Naruto and smiled when the knife hit the boy. His smile faded when the form of the boy disappeared and reappeared as a kettle with a knife imbedded in it. The man had enough time to think it was Kawarimi no Jutsu before he was kicked in the back by the small boy. Naruto jumped up into the air after the kick and was about to kick his attacker again from the air. The man took half a step to recover before he slashed out with another knife. The knife made a clank against the boy and a small stove reappeared where the he thought the boy was. He saw something shine next to the door of the stove and the small gate opened spilling burning coals on him with the iron stove itself hitting him in the head.

Naruto smiled and let go of the string he had attached to the stove door. "Who needs a fox when I am just as good?" He grinned and ran when the man stood up and pulled of the coals that were burning their way into his skin.

Naruto laughed when he heard the man swear but quickly stopped when he had to think of something else. He was breathing heavily and he was amazed that the technique he learned worked so well. The sand nin guys said it was a simple trick but when Naruto had to do it in real life it pulled a lot of the small boy's chakra. Naruto suddenly realized that there was no one on the roads. The roads were full just moments before the attack. Naruto wondered if he was being set up by one of the Kages or both. Naruto shook his head. The old man Hokage liked Naruto and thought of him as a hero. And the Kazekage was nice, and Gaara's father. They could both be trusted right?

The boy slowed down to catch his breath and looked around. He didn't see his attacker and ran head long into another person. He took a step back and gasped as there was another person wearing the same costume as the first attacker. He jumped back from the ninja and realized it was a woman. "You gave my partner quite a chase there demon. It doesn't matter; your head is mine." Naruto turned to run.

The woman pulled out six kunai and threw them with deadly aim. Naruto glance around the alley as he ran but it was barren. He had no way of escaping and turned in time to see the kunai just about to hit him. He eep'ed when he saw red Chakra swipe away the flying knives. He looked at the source and goggled. It came from his butt. The red chakra solidified and turned into the form of a bushy orange-red tail. Naruto looked at it and remembered the Kyuubi's talk. "It wasn't a dream." He said quietly to himself. He touched the tail and was surprised he could feel it. It was as if it was his tail. He looked at the woman who took a frightened step back. Naruto ran to her and felt the tail wave the ground once. Naruto's body was propelled across the alley and he punched the woman. The nin was through back down the length of the alley and against a wall at the intersection. Naruto felt his tail wave again and the world blurred before he found himself slowing down and standing in front of the woman. The tail raised itself and was about to slam itself down against the woman. Naruto grabbed it and the tail stopped. He would have let it kill the woman if it weren't for the head band she was wearing. He looked at the symbol and sighed. It didn't really surprise him that they were leaf ninja.

He glared at his tail and the Kyuubi's Chakra faded away. The tail disappeared and the woman laid there unconscious. Several Sand nins appeared next to him. "Our sincerest apologies Uzumaki-dono. We were tracking these nin and did not want to apprehend them until we knew what their target was. We sadly lost track of them ten minutes ago." Naruto noticed the other nin he had burned with coals. He was tied and gagged. The sand nin bound and gagged the woman as well as removing all of her weapons.

Naruto walked to the man and took of the gag. He looked at the leaf ninja's head band then back to the ninja attacker. "Who ordered the attack?"

The man sputtered. He glared at the boy and smiled. "The Hokage ordered it. He thought now was a good way to get rid of you." Naruto glared at the man and pulled one of the kunai from the sand nin's before they could object. No one wanted to stop him after the display of power he gave moments before.

Naruto pushed the knife slowly against the man's shoulder. "I not just a kid, I know you are lying. Who!"

The man struggled but felt the knife cut his skin. His hate turned to fear and said, "There were a few members of the commerce. They paid me and her. It was a lot of money. We wanted to do it because we thought we would be honored for finally killing the Kyuubi."

Naruto with drew the knife from the man's shoulder and sighed. The sand nins were watching the scene and were unsure how to respond to the boy. Each was weary of Gaara, but they knew nothing of this boy. Naruto knelt next to the man. "What is your name? And the name of your partner?"

"Tongi Kira, and that is Gon Aki."

Naruto nodded and slashed the knife down along the side of the man. He screamed in fear and Naruto stepped away from him and over to the woman. He cut the woman's bonds as well. When he stood, he looked over to the would-be assassin his whiskered face was impassive. "Take her and go back to the leaf. Tell your employers that I am nothing like the Kyuubi. If this doesn't convince them nothing will. I will never harm the leaf. You may all hate me but Leaf Village is still my home." Naruto walked away and tossed the knife back to the sand nin he took it from. "Leave them alone please. They are just acting out of fear."

The sand nin nodded and disappeared. The man Kira lifted Aki and took her way from the sand village as quickly as possible. His mind was still full of the cold eyes Naruto asked for his name.

- - - - - -

"What of the assassins?"

"They failed. The boy was able to perform some basic skills and was able to get around the first assassin, the second was not as lucky."

The Kaze Kage stopped his reading of a scroll and looked up. "How so?"

"The kyuubi exposed his Chakra to the boy. The boy had the chakra form a solid tail. The tail itself was able to aid the boy in apprehending the second assailant."

"Are both assassins dead?"

"Negative Kazekage-sama. The boy ordered us to let them go as a demonstration of good faith to the people of his village."

The Kazekage sat still thinking for a moment. "This whole situation is turning odd. The boy has already broken the barriers we had set around Gaara. Those two are already close to each other. See what you can do try break them apart. I know Gaara has no strong attatchment to this village. It may be dangerous if he becomes attached to the idea of Konoha."

"Unlikely sir, the boy has told his own horror stories of his village. If anything, our village is more honest with our intentions." The kazekage remained silent.

- - - - - -

When Naruto was alone, he sighed and slumped to the ground. His stomach growled and Naruto grimaced. "Thank you for saving me damn fox, happy now?" The burning faded and Naruto was alone again. He looked at his watch and swore loudly. He sprinted back to the school. Gaara would be getting out about now.

When he got there he was panting and sighed in relief when Gaara was there waiting for him. Gaara looked at the dirty boy and smiled. "Have fun?"

Naruto let the smile return to his face. "Oh loads, fell asleep, talked to my demon, ate a late lunch and then had two of my villages nin try to assassinate me on their own." Naruto grinned at the stunned look the other boy gave him.

"… Are you ok?"

Naruto laughed. "I am now. But it was pretty scary there."

Gaara hmm'ed for a moment. They had started walking towards Naruto's home. It was a block away from the Kazekage's residence. "How do you do it Naruto?" Gaara finally asked. Ever since he found out last night that Naruto was a demon carrier, he wondered how the boy could smile all the time.

Naruto looked at him with the same smile plastered on his face. "Do what?"

"Still smile after all that has happened. I have had people try and kill me many times. I killed them and move on. But since the first one, I couldn't really shake the anger." Gaara looked at his hands. Remembered that he swore to live for himself. And that was what he was doing. But now that he found this boy everything he knew was turning on its head.

Naruto thought about the question for a while. When they were halfway to Naruto's home he said finally. "I smile because it's better than being angry or sad. I am tired of being sad."

Gaara looked over him through the corner of his eyes. "I suppose so. I would have just killed them and forget about it. I remember that happened once. This one guy tried to throw a bomb at me. The sand protected me and I glared at him. The sand did the rest. I forgot about it and was called into my fathers' office. He was angry that I killed one of his ninja's. I told him he shouldn't send them to kill me if he expects them to live long."

Naruto stopped and stared at his friend. "Y-your father tried to ki-kill you?" He felt all the anger build up him. He clenched his fists.

Gaara turned towards the other boy. "Of course, who else would kill me? He doesn't like he can't control me. He thinks I am a danger to the village. Which I am. But I been trying to get better. So he hasn't sent a lot of people in a while now."

"But that is cruel why would he do such a thing? Even if you were dangerous or something, he is still your dad! Why don't you kick his ass?"

Gaara smiled. It was nice to have someone care about if he was attacked or not. "It's ok Naruto." Gaara's eyes gleamed. "When I am stronger I will be Kazekage and make sure nothing like me happens again." Naruto stared at him and the anger evaporated. He scratched his head and smiled at the red head.

"A Kage huh? That's what you want to be?" Gaara nodded and smiled.

"Too far fetched?"

Naruto shook his head. "No it sounds perfect. Maybe I should become Hokage too. I don't want to have anyone like me again either. It is just too cruel. We'll it's a good thing we are friends now then. We can make sure we are allies in the future."

Gaara looked at him strangely. "Friends?"

"Yeah! Friends. You accept me and I accept you. That's the best part about being friends."

Gaara let out a laugh and smiled. Any kind or fear Gaara had about Naruto disappeared. "I guess your right. Let's get some ice cream; we have a lot at my place." Naruto smiled and the two turned at a corner and walked to Gaara's own home. He shared it with his siblings.

"So they left already. How are they?"

Gaara shook his head. "I don't really know. I was placed in a special nursery until last year. I was protected and spoiled actually." Gaara felt his cheeks turn red. "When I started school they shoved my brother and sister with me in a single house. They are scared of me. And they have a right to be. The first time I met them I told them I would kill them if they wouldn't leave me alone."

Naruto gave another hmm for a moment. "Do they care about you?"

"I don't think so. They were ordered to be friendly to me. Otherwise I think they would just run a hide from me, especially during the days that I was really angry." The more Gaara thought about his siblings the more he let his shoulders slump. He barely knew their names. That was it. He knew next to nothing about them. The three were in the same class but Gaara always sat alone.

"Well maybe we can drag them with us next time we go out into the village." Said Naruto confidently. Gaara nodded and his shoulders straitened.

"That sounds like a good idea. Hopefully they won't think I am out to kill them." Naruto grinned in reply.

The siblings were not in when the two boys arrived and Naruto and Gaara found vanilla and chocolate. They each served them selves and began to eat. Naruto served himself some more and thought about what happened today. He grinned and said, "Hey look what I can do!" Naruto stood up and concentrated on his stomach and the seal. _Hey give me the tail, I want to show off!_ The seal heated slightly, and a red-orange tail appeared at the base of Naruto's spine. It lashed back and fourth and Naruto looked at Gaara to see him choking on his ice-cream. "Oie, be careful there Gaara you are going to get a brain freeze too!" Naruto patted the other boys back.

Gaara swallowed the ice cream and rubbed his head. He glared at Naruto then looked at the tail. "Is it real?"

"I think so, it's the Kyuubi's chakra. He said I can't handle the chakra he would just give me so he shoved some in the corner of my body and expected it not to kill me." The more Naruto thought about it the more angry he was getting. He hit the seal on his stomach and said, "Why didn't you think that wouldn't kill me either? That was dangerous." The seal glowed with chakra in reply. Naruto hit it again.

Gaara looked at the boy and his demon. "You **are** crazy Naruto." He resumed his ice-cream and set the bowl in the sink when he was done. The door opened and closed and a boy and girl stopped in mid step. Naruto turned to see a blonde haired girl with a two ties in her hair parting it down the middle and to her shoulders. The boy had a rag of brown hair and had black lines painted at his chin and under his eyes.

Gaara looked at them and said "Hello." The two other kids gasped and nodded shyly. Gaara never greeted them before. He pointed to Naruto. "That orange monstrosity there is Naruto."

Naruto looked at Gaara. His nose quirked as if he smelled something bad. "Monstrasitsty?" Gaara smiled and shook his head.

Naruto looked at the two other kids. "Those two are my brother and sister, Kankuro, and Temari."

Naruto walked up to Kankuro and slapped him on the back in greeting. He then looked at Temari and his smile faded. He walked up to her and stared at her. She looked towards Gaara and then to Kankuro unsure how to handle the scrutiny. Finally Naruto took a step back and nodded to himself. "You're cute! Go out with me!"

Gaara snorted. Kankuro made some choking sounds. But it was Temari, Naruto was still concentrating on. She looked shocked and blushed before the redness turned to anger. "What do you mean 'go out with me'?" She clutched the orange wearing boy's shirt.

Naruto simply smiled. "What? I think you are cute, what's wrong with asking a cute girl for a date?" He said it with complete innocence that Temari couldn't really think of a comeback. Gaara finally burst into laughter. It unnerved Temari and Kankuro at the same time. "Hey! My future is riding on this Gaara, don't you laugh!"

Temari felt the blush come back in full force and let go of the offending boy and out the kitchen door and up the stairs. Kankuro glared at Naruto before waving a hand to Gaara and leaving for the living room to read.

Gaara sighed. The smile was still on his lips and he shook his head. "We really need to work on your friend making skills."

Naruto looked at him in confusion. "Why? I became friends with you alright." Gaara smiled and sat back at the table and Naruto returned to his half melted ice cream. When Naruto was done Gaara looked like he was struggling with something.

"What do you think of my father?"

Naruto looked at him. "When I first met him, he was nice. He gave me this watch and is letting me stay in this village. But for what he did to you I don't think I can respect him much."

Gaara relaxed a fraction. He leaned forward and said to Naruto. "Be very careful around my father. He most likely wanted you here for a reason."

Naruto nodded thinking the same. Naruto told Gaara what his father said about his son. Gaara shook his head. "Be careful. I don't want you to get hurt over me."

Naruto looked at Gaara and smiled. "I will be. And you be careful of your father too. He might try to get you to provoke me."

Gaara looked at him and nodded with a smile. "You are right we should both be careful." Naruto turned to sit down and looked up at Gaara who had his nose scrunched up and one of his eyes squinting. "Naruto?"

"Yeah Gaara?"

"What's a grape?" Naruto looked at him for a second before he burst out laughing. "Come on I want to know!"

-o-

The ANBU watched the two nin enter back into Fire Country and followed them back to Konoha. It was bright morning when the two leaf ninja finally rested in a house and explained their story to their employers.

The men looked at each other. "We have to find a way to kill him now! If the Kyuubi has learned how to use his chakra, then when he returns he will be able to kill us all."

There were roars of agreement from the twelve other civilians. The doors burst open and four full squads of ANBU entered the building and held the men and the two leaf nin.

"You are all under arrest for conspiring to kill a protected child of the leaf and breaking the rule of the third."

The man scowled. "But he is using his demon Chakra! He is dangerous!"

The ANBU hit the man in anger. "Forgive me Captain. I lost my temper. I'll accept any punishment you give at the end of the mission."

The captain walked in with his cloak billowing behind him. "I will when we are done. As to the man's concern…" The ANBU captain looked down and cold eyes leveled on the man. "Uzumaki Naruto had never demonstrated the use of the Kyuubi Chakra during his time in Konoha village. And from what I heard, he did not use it when he first dealt with Kira. It was not until Aki tried and would have likely succeeded in killing him did the demon inside the boy reach to protect him. It is your own fault that Naruto is able to use the Kyuubi Chakra. Damn it Aki, you were a promising Genin. How the hell did you fall so low as to dropout?"

There was silence for a few moments. The Captain scowled at the men in disgust. "Take the Civilians away." He turned to the two ninja. "You two… You are both lucky you are alive."

The two ninja nodded. "Yes, the Kyuubi…"

The Captain backhanded the woman. "I am not talking about Naruto at all. I am talking about the Kazekage. His nin could have easily killed you every way possible as soon as you set foot into Wind Country. He most likely let you live to see how Naruto would handle you. I am impressed that Naruto could handle one Chuunin on his own." The captain smiled fondly. The two ninja simply stared at the man in shock. The man's face went neutral and he looked back to the two leaf ninja that were under arrest. "You are both now considered missing nin. You are both to be imprisoned until the time of your execution. The Hokage's word is law. You knew what the consequences of the unspoken law were. Yet you deliberately broke it, hired yourself out as _mercenaries_, and gladly accept a job that you knew went against the Kage's code of honor. Take them away." Both ninja were taken away while arguing in their defense. They were silenced as they left the room.

The Captain looked over to his subordinate. "Two days suspension from active duty for you to reflect on your lost of composure. You are dismissed." The man bowed and left. The Captain sighed and turned to his second. "And... 3 days suspension to myself for my own lack of judgment."

- - -End Chapter 2 Fear- - -

A/N: updated slightly to realign with the final chapter of the story.


	3. Chapter 3 Confidence

Chapter 3 Confidence

Hinata and Sasuke did not return to class the day Naruto left. They instead, talked with the Hokage. Sasuke received few answers but was satisfied that the Hokage was not one of the people of the village who hated Naruto. He received very few other clues over the length of the conversation and he had left unsatisfied. Whenever Sasuke looked to Hinata during the conversation, he gave her a nod promising her he would explain what he saw and knew so far. The two students were dismissed the same time class would have been over at their school and exited the tower.

They both started walking towards the western side of the village. When their paths branched, Hinata said happily, "Thank you Uchiha-san. I have to go now but can we talk tomorrow?"

"That will be fine. Just find me; I am usually inside the school during lunch break." Hinata waved and ignored the look several girls from her class gave her when she ran home.

The next morning, the news that they had skipped class together spread throughout the school. Before the end of the first class, Hinata was on the verge of tears when no one would even acknowledge that she was in the room. The boys didn't care but if the girls were angry, they wouldn't want to stick up for the pale six year old. Kids talking about the previous day were immediately silenced at a glance from Sasuke but Hinata's timid nature would only fuel the whispers and the glares she had been receiving.

At the end of the first class Hinata looked up from her scroll and saw the two girls who had fawned over Sasuke glare at her. Hinata's eyes were wide and after several kids moved away from the frightened girl the two walked up to her and the blonde haired girl slammed her hand against Hinata's table making her flinch.

"Where were you at during the last half of school yesterday?" Several other girls had taken up spots around the three girl's argument.

Hinata gulped but said, "W-with the Sandaime Hokage. I had some things I had to talk to him about."

Both girls relaxed slightly. "So you didn't go out with Sasuke?"

"He escorted me." She said in a small voice. The two leading girls were split between saying that was sweet and glaring at the Hyuuga.

"That all?"

Hinata nodded. "We both said goodbye to a friend of ours and then talked to the Sandaime until school got out."

The pinked haired girl looked at Hinata shrewdly. "You have to be lying."

Hinata began to stutter out an argument, but the other girl started into the conversation. "She's right, I have never seen you two even talked to each other! And who is this friend of yours? How would you know anyone he would know? Stay away from Sasuke-kun!"

"W-we just wanted to say good bye to Naruto-kun." Hinata said quietly. She looked at her lap.

"Naruto? The **looser**?" The blonde girl asked. Suddenly the whole class began to laugh. "Why would Sasuke-kun say good bye to a looser like Naruto? He is too cool to be seen even being near him. You are so lying." Hinata stop the tears that were ready to burst from her eyes.

"Enough!" The girls turned and said. Each squealed out 'Sasuke-kun.' Sasuke looked at the group of girls and then to Hinata who was crying. He twitched his eyebrow remembering the last time he saw her cry and gave a slight exhale of air. "What are you trying to do to the poor girl?"

One of the girls blocked off Sasuke's view of the crying Hyuuga. He gave an irritated groan. "But Sasuke-kun, we just want to make sure you get the best girlfriend and she is not it, she just likes to cry."

Sasuke thought back to the times he had ever seen the small Hyuuga, and nodded his head. She did cry a lot. The girls saw the nod were relieved that their Sasuke-kun had he finally came to his senses. When he looked at the girls his face was impassive. He started walking around them. "I was wrong." The girls started to smile. "You girls are not annoying." Sasuke finally saw Hinata. She was scared and she looked to Sasuke for help but she feared him now with what he was saying. Sasuke gripped his hand. The Uchiha looked away from Hinata to the group who were picking on her. His voice was cold. "You girls are pathetic."

There were sudden gasps from the girls and more of the guys were looking at Sasuke too. "I _am _friends with Naruto, which is more than I can say for any of you. Say one more sneering comment about any of my friends and you will regret it. Get out of here; I never want to see you again." The group of girls looked stunned for a moment before someone in the back let out a whimper. Slowly the group ran away each one crying.

Sasuke sat next to Hinata and placed a hand on her back. "Are you alright?"

Hinata wiped the last tear and looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you Uchiha-san."

Sasuke nodded back. He looked around the room and noticed that it was now empty. He smirked and nudged Hinata. "I think I scared everyone off."

Hinata let out a giggle. "You can be scary when you want to be."

Sasuke though about that and then laughed quietly. "I almost feel sorry for them. I wonder how they are going to survive through the next class, it starts in three minutes."

Hinata let out a long quivering sigh. "Um, U-Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke looked from the room and back to her. "What is it Hinata?"

Hinata felt her face redden when Sasuke said her name. "C-could you sit up here with me for today." Her face turned a deeper shade of red and she felt the fear grip her chest from the other girls. "I-I don't know if I c-could go through those girls again."

Sasuke stared at her for a moment before nodded and patted her shoulder. "Yeah. I'll sit up here with you." Hinata smiled widely and muttered a thank you. Sasuke tilted his head and smiled at her. "Hinata?" She looked up. Her eyes were still wide and he repressed a laugh. "Call me Sasuke. Friends?"

Hinata slowly nodded. "Friends, Sasuke."

- - - - - -

The rest of the day ended quietly. The students would not go near Sasuke or Hinata, and the girls who had harassed the timid Hyuuga were subdued. Hinata started walking home with her head down. Sasuke ran as soon as the bell rang. She thought he had decided that he didn't want to be her friend anymore and walked by herself. The other kids ignored her and walked around her. "Hinata!" Her back tensed and then relaxed when Sasuke waved at her. She waited for him to catch up to her and they continued walking. "I am going this way too. I live a little farther than you do." Hinata smiled and nodded shyly.

"So what did you do after class? You ran out the door as soon as it was over."

Sasuke nodded. "Sorry about that. I wanted to ask a teacher something about Naruto. He hated him a lot too I guess. He kicked me out of his class room as soon as I asked." Hinata nodded in understanding.

"So it's true for all over the village then. All of the adults hate him. I wonder why our class doesn't like him."

"It might just be because he was a clown."

Hinata looked at him and laughed at the simple answer. "You are probably right. I-I am not interrupting anything with you for walking with me right?"

Sasuke looked at her and shook his head. "No, I have nothing to do and no one to go home to. I am an orphan." Hinata gasped. He simply waved it off. "It's fine, I loved my family and think of them all the time. But I can keep going. Just like Naruto right? Neither one of us can just give up."

Hinata smiled widely thinking about Naruto. "Un." She said in agreement.

- - - - - -

Hinata dodged another blow from her father and brought up her palm to his forearm then her opposing palm to his chest. The man slapped the hand away and bent his knee and made solid contact with her stomach. Hinata was launched onto her back and she slowly got back up breathing hard.

"Something good happen in class today Hinata? You are more focused than usual." The clan leader commented.

Hinata smiled at the not given complement. "I made a real friend."

Her father kept the smile from his face. It was encouraging if a single friend can bring about this much focus. "As long as your friend does not interfere with your training." He took one step into her stance and she stopped his hand before it launched to attack her. Hinata was still a child and could barely reach her fathers chest. When her father thrust he left hand to counter she grabbed it and used it to vault and aimed for his lung. The older man smiled and caught her in mid air.

"I think that is good enough, we are running late, and your mother has been testy ever since she found she was pregnant." Hinata pouted but nodded. She was set down and then bowed to her father before leaving to clean up. The adult Hyuuga looked at her run off and sighed. She had talent. She was just so timid. He silently prayed that this friend of hers will give her confidence where he could not.

The next few days followed in the same fashion. Hinata went to school, talked to whoever her friend was and then returned to her father to train. While she did not improve at all, her attitude made a difference in how she handled the training. It was Friday and HInata's father, Hyuuga Hiashi, stepped back to watch the two youngest Hyuuga fight. Hyuuga Neji was an advanced student even though he was only one year older than Hinata. He learned quickly, had precision and was looked on as the pride of the branch family, the clans' second class citizenry.

Hinata dodged one blow only to receive three more. Her cousin was fast and she always felt each hit he made. All of the readiness she had from the past few days was slowly taken apart by her cousin and his sneering comments. "It is your fate to be weak." He had said when she countered and hit him with a clean hit. The comment was enough for her to loose concentration and then she began to fall apart during the fight. At the end of the lesson Neji scoffed at her. "You will always be weak Hinata-sama." Hinata was still on the ground when he left. She refused to cry and stood up. Her eyes were normal and she bowed to her father before leaving to her room. Hinata went to her room and collapsed on her floor mat. She clutched her sides and whimpered from the pain. She rolled onto her side and quickly fell asleep. Neji's voice was still on her mind.

Hinata arrived at school the next morning and slumped into her chair. "You o.k? Hinata?"

Hinata jerked her head up and saw Sasuke standing over here. She slouched back down and sighed. "Bad day in training last night. Neji-nii-san always beats me. And he says I am weak." She paused and felt her voice shake. "It is true sometimes. I just fall apart while fighting. Even after I know I can do it. But he says one word or my father gives me one look and then I start to fall apart." She closed her eyes and just breathed. She hated crying, and hated even more since it seems to be all she does in front of her friend Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at her and sat down. He saw how depressed she was. He smirked when he thought Naruto would do. He did not know the boy well outside of him being in class, but the kid never did back down, shut up or give in. "Let's train a little after school I might be able to help."

Hinata looked at him and smiled but let it go when she asked, "What about Naruto? This is the only time we can talk about what he meant."

Sasuke sighed. He had been going over what he learned with no luck. "I have been trying to figure it out. I'll tell you what I know while we train. I know I am missing something but I can't figure out what it is."

Hinata nodded and she felt better. The classes went by quickly and Hinata and Sasuke were in the forest and had a small clearing. "It looks like no one will be able to interfere with us here. So let's spar a little. I don't want you to be thinking of just Naruto while we practice."

Hinata turned bright red but nodded. She closed her eyes and let her blood limit take over her vision. "We will start slow Hinata."

Sasuke walked up to her and went into his fighting stance. Hinata was the one who started the exchange of blows. Sasuke dodged and looked at where she was having problems. She was fine when she was fighting him. She had no real weaknesses. She was agile and knew when to counter and when to dodge. He looked at her in confusion and pressed his attack. He finally hit her and then it seemed to change. Hinata would make mistakes she would not have made moments before. She struggled with her self now that she was aware she could get hurt. It got worst when she hit him. It was actually an accident when she pulled back her fist his arm batted it away and her counter which would have missed, actually landed.

Sasuke finally raised his hand to stop her. "I think I know what your problem is."

Hinata looked nervous. She knew she was fine in the beginning but really failed soon after. "What is it?" She feared there was something really wrong with her and would fail her father.

"You are afraid of being hurt and hurting your opponent."

Hinata looked at him confused. "As soon as I hit you, you started to loose focus. And it got worst when you hit me. There is nothing fancy that is wrong. You are a good fighter. You are just afraid. So we are just going to drill until it becomes second nature. Pain is pain Hinata, when we are practicing we know what we are expecting. And when fighting, everyone knows on both sides that it is going to be worst than just pain, people will die in battle. And not even in that." Sasuke paused there and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "Now sit so we can rest." Hinata felt shaken at the revelation. She was both happy and embarrassed that if could be something so simple. She sighed when she sat down.

"So what did you find out about Naruto."

Sasuke looked at her for a moment before he told her from after he left her that night what he found. How the people of the village hated Naruto, to how a few tried to kill him, to the people who stood around to watch. He left out nothing on what he found. Hinata slowly nodded she felt fear for Naruto. How had he lived such a life?

"We need to figure out why they hate him." Hinata finally said.

"Naruto said we had all the information we needed. But I can't figure this out. I was wondering if it would be better to simply not try and find out."

Hinata shook her head. "What ever the secret is, he wanted us to know, even if it meant that we wouldn't be friends anymore. He wanted to be completely open with us. He just couldn't' tell us what the secret was."

Sasuke smiled and stood up. "We'll figure it out. We have a few years to do this so there is no complete rush."

Hinata struggled to argue with that logic with out just saying she wanted to see Naruto now. Sasuke laughed at the look. Indignant does not really suit her face.

"Let's go back to training. No Byakugan. We are going to drill basics into you until you don't have to think, just do. You are not used to being hurt so we are going to fight until we are both sore so we can both get used to fighting while in pain."

Hinata cringed but nodded. "O.K. Sasuke."

The two spared for the rest of the day. They both gave yips of pain through it all, but Sasuke looked satisfied even if Hinata was still a little jumpy from the training. Returning back to the village, Sasuke sported several nice swelling bruises on his temple and his shoulder. Hinata had several on her cheeks fore arms and stomach. Neither one of them had been in so much pain from fighting. When they were near the Uchiha compound Sasuke stopped. He looked at Hinata and hmm'ed to himself. "I am going to go with you. I need to talk to your father."

Hinata stuttered out that he couldn't but Sasuke smiled at her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it slightly and Hinata just reddened then remained silent.

By the time they reached the Hyuuga Clans home, the sun was already down and the guards simply let Hinata and her guest pass. Sasuke felt them both tense when they saw the bruises on her face but noticed that boy had a few as well. Neither could dismiss the smile on the girls face.

Sasuke stopped just before they entered torch light at the entrance to her home. "Go get him. I should wait here. Hinata looked as if she wanted to argue but she saw the bruises on his face and understood why he was going to speak to her father. She went inside to retrieve her father. Sasuke could hear her foot steps against the wood and after a moment of murmuring he heard heavier steps follow Hinata's light ones. The man was tall with long hair. His eyes were furrowed and he looked as if he was suppressing anger. Sasuke bit back a smirk. "Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga-dono." He introduced himself with low bow. He looked to Hinata who was trying to hide the fear she had. It was for her friend not for her.

"Hinata, go back inside I believe I need to have a discussion with your _friend_."

"I need to have a private chat with your father Hinata." Both father and friend looked at each other. Hinata nodded and walked inside. "I have been sparing with your daughter."

The man grounded out. "You call that sparing?"

Sasuke raised a hand to quell the rage that was slowly building up in the man. "We found that Hinata's greatest weakness is her fear to hurt others as well as getting hurt her self. We started drilling in basics and intentionally not blocking each others blows so we both can get used to the pain of contact." Sasuke stepped forward once he realized he was not in the light of the touches. The Hyuuga mildly lowered his temper. There was no denying the bruises on his face that equaled the intensity of his daughters.

"I came here to ask a favor for your daughter."

The man glared at the boy but finally asked. "And that is?"

"To have her train with me for the next few months. You can monitor her progress with tests once a week, but I want her to exclusively train with out the aid the Byakugan. She is training with it too early. She has talent, but it is not with her blood limit."

The father slowly nodded at the boys' assessment. He knew that the small confidence had made a tremendous difference for Hinata. If the boy can give her the kind of self acknowledgement she needs, he could not begrudge her daughter the chance to grow.

"One question. Why would you be willing to help my daughter? You do not need her help to train."

Sasuke smiled. He raised his head to meet the Hyuuga leader eye to eye. "Because she is my friend."

The man closed his eyes in defeat. "Very well. I will test her every Thursday. The rest of the evenings and Sunday, she is yours to train with. But if I see she is crippled or hurt beyond anything reasonable…" Sasuke bowed and then walked away.

Hinata sat on the roof and smiled at her father then looked back to Sasuke. No one had stood up for her like he had. Now she saw him proudly proclaim her as his friend. She smiled at his shadow when it crossed the gate a few hundred meters away. She could live with pain if she had friend who could help her be happy.

- - - - - -

Pants and yells were heard daily from the forest. People would walk by a certain section but could never see who was making the noise and few had the curiosity to look. Hinata was bruised again but the grin on her face was enough to show Sasuke that she could keep going. Her eyes were normal and true to Sasuke's word, Hinata never utilized her blood limit and practiced strictly with the basics. There were no more break downs in concentration after the first week. After the second, Hinata would be sore but happy with the days work. Sasuke was invited several times to eat with the Hyuuga's but he had only accepted once. And that was with Hinata begging him.

He laughed at the memory and brushed off his clothes. They were covered in grass. "You ready again Hinata?" These past three months met with Hinata no longer stuttering around others. The smile that graced her face never wavered. Sasuke and Hinata both quickly became the top two students in the class thanks to their daily training till late evening. The skills they studied together after classes were of what they would need to know for when they graduated.

It had been three long months since Naruto left. They both could not find the clue they were missing and it was frustrating them both. They would ask people around them carefully but when they were getting odd looks for being curious they both stopped asking for a month and did it again with nearby villagers.

Hinata sighed. She was thinking of the past few months then got back up. She had been lying on the ground to catch her breath. Sasuke was sitting up from resting at the trunk of a tree and faced her. She nodded and they both charged in.

Hinata was getting faster than the Uchiha and he did not really know what to do when her blows rained on him. He quickly dodged one set of fists and felt three more connect against his face and shoulder. He snapped his head to look at her and he felt he knew where her fists were about to make contact. He pressed one hand away and caught the other and pressed his fist against her stomach. Hinata coughed and almost fell over. Sasuke swore and caught her. "Are you alright Hinata?"

Hinata slumped against him and nodded. "I think- you- just -knocked the wind out of me." She took quick short breaths until her breathing returned to normal. She looked at Sasuke. She was about to ask how he did that but noticed something. "What are you doing with your eyes?" Sasuke let her go when she could stand on her own and didn't think of the slight breath of disappointment that escaped both their lips.

"My eyes?"

"They are red."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He ran to the small stream that ran through their training ground. They had both at one point or another fallen into that stream while fighting and they tried their best to not fight around it. He looked at his reflection and laughed. He ran up to Hinata and gave her a hug. Hinata blushed but smiled back. "I activated my Sharingan! Hinata do you know what that means? Most are not able to activate it until they are close to thirteen! The most brilliant of geniuses of the Uchiha clan could not do it until they were eight or nine! The only other person who I know activated their Sharigan so early was…" His smiled failed for a moment before he smiled back at Hinata. "Someone who was very important to me." Hinata smiled back.

Hinata grinned suddenly. "That makes us on even turns." She raised her hands and she activated her blood limit that was able to see the Chakra system of the human body.

Sasuke snorted. "I don't think this means we are still on even terms Hinata, you still know how to use your blood limit." He raised his open palm and closed fist to his side and towards her chest and charged in towards Hinata.

From that point on they concentrated on learning their blood limits. Sasuke laughed when he couldn't use his arms anymore and Hinata would laugh at how tired she was of being blocked all the time.

Hinata returned home and noticed that many of her clan were gathered at the front gate to her home. "What happened?"

Two older men looked at her. "Hinata-sama, please go on inside. Your father is waiting for you."

Hinata nodded and ran in. She kicked off her shoes and ran bare footed. She didn't know why she felt something was wrong but knew she had to find her father. She ran through several rooms and finally found her father and aunt outside his parent bedroom. She slowed to a walk and looked at her father. His eyes were closed and eye brows were low. "Father?"

The clan leader, Hiashi looked at his daughter and lifted her up to hug her. "Your mother had her baby today." Hinata smiled and was about to say something when her father held her tighter. "Something went wrong when she was giving birth and she died Hinata." Hinata gasped and started to cry she tried to push her father away to see her mother. "I am sorry Hinata." He held her while she fought him. After a few minutes he set her down. "Come, you should see your new sister. Your mother loved you both. Remember that."

Hinata nodded and walked into the room where a shroud was over her mother and the sleeping new born was taken care of by a woman Hinata never met.

The next day Sasuke walked to school while trying to ignore the girls who were staring at him. It seemed when ever he was not with Hinata they would think that he was a piece of meat. He shivered at the thought. He looked over his shoulder expecting Hinata to show herself. Sasuke found himself disappointed when she didn't show. He pushed the thought out of his mind. He admitted he had become friends with the Hyuuga after the first day they had met at his front porch. The meeting was a strange combination of curiosity over Naruto and his understanding that no one should cry for long. It created a bridge to his heart that he did not understand was closed off to the rest of the world.

He thought back to the times before Hinata, and shuddered at the memories. He hated being alone. Now that Hinata was by his side he always felt better. These thoughts ran through his mind while trying to understand exactly how that happened.

Class started and Hinata did not appear in class. Sasuke had asked his teacher if he knew anything and the old man shook his head. Sasuke sat in between classes and sighed. The girls were talking loudly. They kept looking in the raven haired boys direction. Just as if the girls were getting ready to try and walk over to talk to him, he pushed his seat back and walked out of the class room. He had no interest in talking to those girls. They simply wanted to 'fawn over him' as his teacher had said it.

He had enough of that from the villagers, he did not need it from his class mates. At least most of the leaf ninja left him alone. He walked down the hall and sighed when one of the teachers was at the doors. It looked like they were waiting for something to arrive. She had a clip board in her hand and was looking through the window that was centered in the door.

Sasuke turned around and walked up to the second floor and found an empty class room. There were no trees to jump on to this time, and he grunted at the complication. Sasuke looked out the window and down to the ground, it was two stories to the ground. His eyes lowered in irritation. He wanted to check on Hinata. He looked along the wall and saw there was nothing to grab onto near by to slide him down. Finally he decided on just scratching school property. He took out a Kunai and jumped out the window and slammed the Kunai into the wall and securely placed the soles of his feet against the wall. He slid down fast but the traction from his feet and the knife slowed him enough where he could jump from the beginning of the first story where the windows started again and land with out hurting himself. He saluted the school with one lazy hand before darting off towards the Hyuuga compound at a dead run. It had been bothering him all morning why Hinata failed to show up. She was healthy yesterday and had never missed a day of class, even if she was sick.

He slowed and came to a dead halt in front of gates to the Hyuuga district. The guards let him past and they looked subdued. He picked up his speed again when he found that there were not many people out this time of day. He stopped when he finally made it to Hinata's house. Two men were the sentries.

"Kid, isn't it a little early to be out of class?" Sasuke ignored him and started for the gates. One of the men placed a firm hand on his shoulder. He said sadly, "No one can see the main family today."

Sasuke looked up at the hazy eyed man. "Is Hinata alright? She did not appear at school today."

"It is not my place to say anything that is not announced." The first sentry said stiffly.

The second scowled at him. "This is Hinata's friend; he is entitled to know at the very least." He other man grunted. "Lady Hyuuga died in child birth last night." Sasuke gasped. "They are in mourning. Please, turn back. We can't allow you to seem them today." The man was deeply sad. Sasuke saw the other one was just as depressed. Sasuke nodded.

In Sasuke's mind a mantra kept running through his head. He needed to make sure Hinata was alright. She has cried enough. He never wanted to see her cry again. "Thank you for your time." Sasuke said while looking at the floor. When he looked at the two men again his eyes were bright red. They both nodded and started looking forward and slowly towards the main gates. Sasuke smiled and walked through the front gate. He was glad he could use the Sharingan now. He had made the two men see a shadow of himself walk back out of the area.

He glanced up at the sun and notice that it was about noon. He slipped around the house being as careful as possible. He did not want to get the two men in front in trouble, but he needed to see Hinata.

He glided across the roof as low as possible while hiding among the shadow of the trees that surround the house. He glanced inside carefully and grunted in disappointment when he didn't see Hinata or anyone else.

He finally heard muffled breathing and Sasuke recognized it as Hinata sobbing. He stopped right over the window and lowered his head slowly to see if she was alone. He saw her with her father and a new born baby. The baby was asleep and Hinata clung to her father. He held the new born in the crook of his arm and had an arm around the six year old. His eyes were closed but Sasuke felt that the old man could see him. He quickly pulled his head back onto the roof and sighed. He sat there for a few minutes and decided he would wait.

Hiashi smiled inwardly at the boy on his roof. He had expected him to leave when he saw that his little Hinata-chan was not alone. But the shadow seemed to be content to sit on the roof and wait. Finally Hinata had fallen asleep. Her father laid her down gently with one arm and stood to leave. The new born girl gurgled for a moment before Hiashi coughed softly and left.

Sasuke had been lying on the roof and grimaced when he heard the cough. He laid down on his stomach and hanged off of the edge of the roof and lowered his head down to the window. Hinata's father was gone and Hinata was sleeping. His arms gripped the edge of the roof and he flipped himself over and dangled for a few moments before he let go and caught the window sill and pulled himself up through the open window and sat next to Hinata.

He didn't want to wake her so he sat next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Hinata sighed and leaned into it. Sasuke soon found himself in a similar position to Hinata's father. He sat there and thought about why he was there.

He knew he was her friend. They had learned to be completely comfortable with each other. But now he found himself going out of his way now to make sure she was alright. He knew what it was like to loose someone important to him. Maybe that was why he was so happy when she asked to be near him. Not in the way those girls at school did, but in the way of a person who knew they were important to each other. Sasuke had no one to believe or trust in. Hinata gave him that the moment he felt sympathy for her.

There was a creak at the door and Sasuke looked at Hinata's father. He nodded once before walking away. Sasuke turned back to the girl who had become his best friend. He smiled and promised himself he would make sure she would cry as little as possible.

He left late that evening. Hinata never did wake up. She was just too exhausted. Sasuke carried her to her room and bowed low to the Hyuuga Clan leader for allowing him to visit her. He nodded his head in dismissal and Sasuke returned back to his empty district where no one save his breath moved through the air.

The next day Hinata appeared next to him when he walked to school. Her face was bright and here eyes were happy. He asked her if she was alright. Hinata nodded and only murmured a 'thank you'. Sasuke smiled and muttered a 'you're welcome'.

Neither one spoke of his visit the night before. They had both attended her mother's funeral and Sasuke was surprised he was the only non-Hyuuga. He bowed low to the casket of Hinata's mother and laid three yellow roses for friendship and love.

He joined Hinata and they stood quietly while the procession carried on. The next day their training continued if only now more focused than before. They had found they trusted each other more now than ever and each never held back.

Four months past since the funeral, it was summer break and the two had lain lazily next to each other. They had trained all day and both were too exhausted to continue.

"What do you think Naruto is doing now Sasuke?" Hinata was looking at a cloud and she could make out two half circles that reminded her of Naruto's grinning eyes.

Sasuke shook his head. "If anything the idiot is pranking someone. I feel sorry for the teacher who has to make sure he learns something." Hinata nodded, smiled then finally laughed. Sasuke turned to her. "What's so funny?"

Hinata shook her head while she was laughing. "I just had an image of Naruto dropping a pile of erasers on a teachers head." Sasuke smirked. He remembered when Naruto had actually done that to one of the teachers the brat hated. But to be fair that teacher picked on Naruto a lot. Most adults who were older than their teens seemed too…

"Hey Hinata, I just thought of something. There is a certain age that kids and adults know about the secret. Then there are all the people like us who have no clue."

Hinata sat up. "What is the youngest person you seen who hated Naruto when we asked them about him."

"I would think around twenty. Actually I know its then. I asked one guy who was going to become twenty and he only heard that the kid was a brat. But when I asked one of his friends who was one or two years older and he knew. He said never to mention that name to him again."

"Let's go to the library, we can look to see if there is any news of what happened around six years ago." Their search left little information. There was nothing mentioned about Naruto's birth or something that had happened to the Uzumaki family. There was an enormous amount of information on the death of the Kyuubi who had attacked then. But there was nothing about Naruto or any kind of reason as to why such resentment would be created out of his own birth. Both children were disappointed. When they left the library one of Hinata's older cousins found them.

"I am sorry to disrupt you Hinata-sama, but your father has requested your appearance for a demonstration of your training tonight.

"Thank you Kaji-nii-san." Hinata bowed to the man before he left.

"Did your father tell you anything about this before?"

Hinata looked upset and shook her head no. "He never tells me anything and then wants me to be like my cousin. I really don't like that."

Sasuke nudged her. "It will be fine. Just show him what you have learned. I am sure he will be surprised." Hinata grinned at him and they both headed for the Hyuuga compound.

The two drank tea with the Hyuuga father and cousin Neji. Sasuke tried not to size up Neji, who Hinata said was really strong. After tea they sat and discussed what Sasuke drilled with his daughter. "We have gone over basic tactics and learned traps. Right now we are finally starting to learn Kawarimi no jutsu and Bushin no Jutsu." There was a soft scowl from next to the Uchiha and he saw a pair of cool eyes look back at him. "Did you want to say something?"

Neji scoffed at the black haired boy. "Hyuuga do not need to know those weak basics, the Jyuuken is enough to conquer any opponent. To learn those techniques simply shows how weak you are not to be able to perform the family style." He smirked at Hinata and She looked at the floor.

"That is enough Neji. The basics of ninjutsu are not to be scorned. Ninja outside of the Hyuuga clan must learn to work with those skills to compete with us, and we should not look down at their own lack of ability." Sasuke looked at the man impassively. He caught Hinata's mouth quiver in anger and her fist shook slightly. The implied insult to Sasuke was almost reason enough to cause an outburst. Sasuke was forced to look back to Hinata's father when he continued. "I decided it was best to now see how far she is progressing with the seven months of training she has been having with you. Her Jyuuken is falling behind farther than I would expect and I need to see for myself if the time away from the family technique is worth the while." Sasuke and Hinata nodded. Hinata's father stood and the two followed him with Neji trailing behind.

Inside Hinata was frustrated and angry. Her father had never considered her when making decisions that would affect her life. She was young but she knew that her fathers controlling nature was hurting her. She hated when he made these situations and thought of ways to get through this with out showing disgrace to her father.

Sasuke looked at Hinata as they were walking. Her face was blank and her eyes were tired, but it was the corner of her mouth that showed she was angry. Sasuke thought he was a little annoyed too. He might not be able to talk to her much and not train at all with her if she did not show something in this demonstration. He looked at Neji and then he understood why Hinata was upset. Her father had chosen the strongest child for Hinata to fight against. He wanted to ensure that Hinata would go back to training with him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the back of the Hyuuga. He felt the man tense but continued to walk. Sasuke smirked remembering that the Hyuuga have an almost three hundred and sixty degree range of sight. The old man saw Sasuke glare at him._ Serves him right_.

They entered the courtyard that was encircled by the Main Branch's home. It was completely sealed off to those who were not of the Main family and Sasuke was told by Hinata that he was the first foreigner to be here that she could remember. Sasuke nodded his understanding at the privilege of being here.

Hinata was nervous. She had only recently started using the Jyuuken fighting style again and her byakugan was a little rusty as well. She looked over to Sasuke who was sitting next to her father. He smiled at her with a nod and she smiled back.

"It has been a while Neji-nii-san."

"Hinata-sama, give up now and accept to simply go back to training. You are far too weak to compare your self to me."

Hinata smiled and they both turned to their blood limit the Byakugan. Hinata surprised her cousin by charging in first. She started by making contact with his chest, and hit his left shoulder. Neji was surprised by the force of the blow; it hit his lung as well as hurt his actually shoulder. He dodged three more consecutive hits and stepped into her hitting several chakra points. Hinata allowed the hits and returned several hits along Chakra points over Neji's arms. He gasped before he pulled back and looked at his hands. Very little Chakra was coming out of his left hand and his right felt no power from the blow to his shoulder moments before. Neji sneered and charged at her. Hinata felt her heart race before she side-stepped his charge. She batted away his hand to her heart and hit the remaining points of Chakra along his right arm.

Hinata smiled and looked at her cousins Chakra system. She could not see the points very well in the human body, but the arms and legs were easy. She turned off her Byakugan and looked at Neji with her normal eyes. "I am sorry Neji-nii-san. But you are about to loose." She changed her stance and she felt Sasuke smile at her in encouragement. She charged and instead of using Jyuuken she used fist, elbow and knees to score hits to Neji who could not properly do damage with his arms disabled.

Neji made several tries to counter and finally hit Hinata hard across the brow. She stumbled and Neji took the chance to continue to attack. Several chakra points were nailed shut now that his arms were slowly recovering and Hinata gasped from the pain in her stomach, liver and kidneys. She raised her hand and slipped her Chakra filled fingers across Neji's arm. His arm became numb and she punched his left arm at the inside elbow joint. She started to attack, using open palms and pushed Neji back. There were several high-speed repeating pops every time Hinata made contact with Neji's body. There was a startled gasped from behind her and she smiled. _Look at what I can do father._ Each hit was similar to the Jyuuken. But the pops changed how it was being used.

The Hyuuga clan leader muttered. "How?" He activated his Byakugan and saw the chakara flow of his daughter.

Sasuke gave a smug grunt but said proudly. "It's because of my Sharingan." The man looked down to Sasuke. Sasuke had activated his Sharigan at the beginning of the fight and had been watching the fight several steps ahead of where it was leading to. "Since I can predict movement, Hinata had to find a way to continue to deal damage even when she misses an opponent. What she came up with, were high speed chakra bursts from the hands. Each burst goes along the length of her hand and spreads to anything that is near enough to it. Her normal flexibility and speed make up for my predictions. Even if I dodged her hits she was flexible enough to move her hand close enough to hurt me. Neji is not as fast as me and he can't predict Hinata's movements." Sasuke looked at Hinata. _But instead of precise hits to the chakra system each hit spreads through the system forcing chakra to speed and slow at random intervals. The stress is hurting both Neji's body and his chakra system. Even while Neji dodges, he still receives damage of the jyuuken as if he just stood there and took the hits. _

Hinata did one final chakra burst fist to Neji's neck and he collapsed. Hinata was panting hard and she turned to her father and bowed. When she looked up she saw a smug Sasuke and a passive face over her father. He stood up and walked over to Hinata.

The six year old made no move but felt her nervousness show. "Do you have a name for your new fighting style?"

Hinata shook her head. "I am still trying to find everything I can about it before I want to use if for fighting. But I wanted to show you what I learned so far father." Her face was pointed at the ground and she bit her lip. Hiashi exhaled silently in disappointment. _Well done Hinata, although I wish I could return to training you, you need this young man more than I want you. _Her father stared at her and smiled.

She never did see it. He patted her shoulder and walked past her to the boy on the ground. "You may continue to train with Uchiha Sasuke-dono." Sasuke looked at the man in surprise. He was never given such a high honorific. "You two have progressed far beyond what I could have imagined in such short of a time." He knelt next to the boy on the ground and picked him up. "I will tend to Neji. You may go now." He left the two outside the court yard. They both looked at each other and they both grinned widely.

"I DID IT!" Hinata shouted before she covered her mouth and looked around. No one was there to see her un-Hyuuga-like behavior. Sasuke finally laughed loudly. Hinata smiled back at him. It was the first time she had seen the sullen boy laugh so carefree.

"Congratulations Hinata. Let's go get something to eat to celebrate."

"That sounds like a good idea, but let me change and get cleaned up. I stink." Sasuke gave his usually silence but smiled at her. He walked back to where he was watching the match and waved his hand for her to go hurry up. She smiled and left.

Sasuke sighed and wondered where they could go eat. He actually saw a Ramen shop a few blocks down. He had never been to one and now was a good time as any to celebrate. He smiled at the thought of Hinata eating ramen. The quiet girl really did not seem the kind of person to shout, be determined or even eat ramen. He wondered if she actually would eat it and how clean she would be while eating. There was a tap on his shoulder and he smiled at the girl. "Sorry was thinking."

Hinata stuck her tongue out at him. "You are always thinking. What was it this time?"

Sasuke stood up and stretched. He grew stiff while he had sat and wondered how long he had been resting there. "I was thinking Ramen to celebrate."

"Ramen?" Hinata's nose turned up at the idea. Sasuke laughed again. There were times when she was a snob. But it was at things that did not really matter.

Sasuke's eyes were convinced. "Yes, we are eating ramen."

"But its all.. soupy."

"So is soba."

"I like soba! Don't you _dare_ compare it to Ramen!"

Sasuke grabbed the cloth of her kimono and started walking dragging her behind him. "We are going to eat ramen and you will like it. I promise."

Hinata did not look convinced but followed him as he left the compound. They walked and chatted about the practice match with out the anger and stress they both experienced during her fathers lecture until they arrived at a ramen shop.

Sasuke moved the curtains and allowed Hinata to enter first. The ramen shop was one near where Naruto used to live. The Ichiraku was owned by a nice middle aged man. "Shrimp Ramen!" Sasuke ordered.

Hinata looked at what was written on the board over the counter. "I'll have some Beef Ramen please." Sasuke smirked at her and sat at the counter. Hinata looked at the counter to make sure it was clean before she rested her arms on it. She sat up strait and was conscious of her feet dangling beneath her.

"See? It's not that bad Hinata."

Hinata nodded and didn't look at him while feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, father said we can keep training together, but I don't know what we are going to be doing in school soon. We are going to graduate soon if we keep this pace up."

Sasuke smirked. "That's not a bad idea." The old man gave them their ramen and started cleaning the counter. "Thank you."

"Thank you." Hinata echoed. "What? Graduating early?"

"Sure. Naruto would be impressed wouldn't he? And we are going fast through everything. I am starting to wonder if Shikimaru knows all that stuff we are being taught in class already and is just sleeping because he is bored."

Hinata bit back a laugh while slowly eating her ramen. She wiped her mouth and snickered. "I thought you were sleeping in class. Your head does tend to roll to the right when you are sleeping."

Sasuke suddenly turned red. "How would you know?"

"Training. You always sleep under that tree."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that and returned to his ramen. A few minutes passed and Sasuke began drinking the last of broth. He set it down and sighed. "This is good ramen."

"It should be! I had the most practice making shrimp and beef ramen, my favorite customer always ordered those two the most."

"Who was that?" Asked Hinata. She had to admit that it was very good.

"This little blonde haired kid named Naruto. I always thought it was hilarious him eating naruto." The man laughed and shook his head. "What?"

Both Sasuke and Hinata stared at him. This was the first person they had met that was openly friendly about Naruto. "How did you know Naruto?"

The man looked at the kids and smiled. "Are you joking? He used to come in here all the time! I wondered how he could keep paying for it but the Hokage made sure the boy was able to work to support himself and did that by doing odd jobs for a few jounin. Not much, but delivering a message or two. They over paid the boy since they understood his situation." Sasuke looked at Hinata. Had the two not known that Naruto had a secret they would have assumed he was referring to Naruto being an orphan.

"Me and Hinata were there when he left, we saw him off on a carriage to the sand village."

The old man nodded. "That's good to hear, he didn't have many friends. You are both welcome here." The man waved the good bye when they left the shop.

"What do you think Hinata?"

The Hyuuga looked over her shoulder and thought about what she heard. "He liked Naruto. It's the first person I heard being nice to him that is over our age line." Hinata stayed silent after that.

"We will have to go back there a few times, maybe the man will slip something to us."

Hinata nodded and smiled. She looked up to the sky and sighed half defeated. "I like ramen."

Sasuke started laughing loudly and the two sat under a tree. "So what do you think about graduating early?"

Hinata thought about it. It would be great to be a genin, but how old would she be when she graduated? There would not be many children their age to work with. But they had been training together for so long it would not really make a difference. "I wouldn't mind graduating, but when do you think we can finish learning all that stuff? We just barely started Chakra control."

"When ever we learn it all, if its two years or three, who cares right? We will still graduate together."

Hinata reddened slightly but nodded with a smile.

- - - - - -

Very slowly the eleventh month went by for the two children, they both celebrated their seventh birthdays, and argued over what Naruto's secret could be. The beginning of the next month would mark a whole year of Naruto's absence and their becoming friends with the mystery boy and each other.

Hinata started walking to the school and was slowly loosing the resolve she had a year ago about finding what Naruto could not tell them. She had been growing quieter over the week and Sasuke said at one point he was talking to the sad Hinata all over again.

"Hey Hinata!" Sasuke ran up to the girl. They two started walking and there were few nods of greetings from the other boys. All the children walked to the school and did so by the main roads. When Sasuke caught up to Hinata, she was among half a dozen kids from different classes and grades.

"Sorry Sasuke, I just…" Sasuke nodded in understanding. Their dead ends were getting to him too. He had gone back to the apartment that Naruto used to live in for the first time in eight months. The apartment was rebuilt, but no one would live in it. When he asked the owner he said it was cursed since that brat Naruto used to live there. He recognized the hate in the man's voice but it still did not give any clues to why he did hate the blonde boy.

"Well let's go out for the Kyuubi festival. We both need to get out of this lull." Sasuke decide.

Hinata turned bright red. "Go out?" Several other kids near them stopped walking to stare.

"Yeah, we need to do something other than train. We are still kids we should have some kind of fun besides the normal ever day training ritual. Why? Did your family have plans?" Sasuke asked innocently completely oblivious to the people around him for the first time.

Hinata gave out a slight eep. "Nothing. O.k. lets… go… out…"

Sasuke smiled. "Alright, lets get going to class I want to get a head start on my nap." He smirked at her before speeding up slightly. Hinata watched his back before coming to her sense and jogged to catch up.

Class proceeded as normal. The teacher would explain something about Chakra that Sasuke didn't listen to and slowly began to nod off. When the teacher threw a piece of chalk at Sasuke to wake him up, Sasuke immediately reached and caught the offending white rock.

"Uchiha, if you are such a genius that you can sleep through class can you explain to the rest of the class why Chakra depletion is so dangerous?"

Hinata giggled at Sasuke half-asleep face. He glared at her before thinking back to the question. He knew of course he felt it during training. "Chakra depletion is dangerous because the human body is reliant on Chakra in even slight amounts to help run properly. For a ninja, the need for chakra is so important that depleted reserves can actually injure a person and make several internal organs shut down. The easiest organ to damage this way is also the most important, the heart." Sasuke sat back down and the teacher looked at the kid dumbfounded. "Thank you Uchiha, but next time, please stay awake in class."

Sasuke waved his hand and was asleep again in fifteen minutes. The teacher grumbled but could not do anything to punish the boy. He was ahead of the class in every subject and had dragged the Hyuuga girl along for the ride. The Chuunin glared at the Uchiha on his way out. Sasuke and Hinata decided to skip training tonight so they would not be so tired in the morning. Sasuke said he would meet Hinata tomorrow in the morning in front of her family's district. He was happy that the festival landed on a Sunday this year. It would allow them to both enjoy the whole day. He felt himself smirk at the thought of Hinata pointing out that it would also be a whole day with out training.

Sasuke woke up early the next morning and scowled at his eagerness. He showered and dressed. He had forgone the usual shorts and black shirt for black pants and a dark blue shirt. He was not sure if he should eat anything but finally decided against it. He pulled out the money from his family's vault in the office that used to be his fathers'. Then he walked to the Hinata compound several blocks away. She stood in front of the compound with a floral print Kinmono. She smiled at him and Sasuke scratched the back of his head in greeting.

"Let's go Hinata." She smiled and nodded.

Sasuke never remembered having such a good time out of training. The two had gone through several blocks of stands and games when they decided to rest for dinner. It was only mid afternoon but they had both begun to get hot from the running around they did.

"Hey mister, two teriyaki!" The man chef grunted and immediately started placing beef on his grill.

Hinata sat after much eyeing the gnarled wooden table. Sasuke had to laugh. "It's a table Hinata."

"I know, it just… doesn't look comfortable." Sasuke stuck his tongue out.

"Today was fun so far, where would you want to see the fireworks?"

"I think from Kage's mountain would be good." Sasuke looked at her funny. It was a long walk, and the place was most likely filled by now, even if the fire works would not start for three more hours. Hinata saw the look on his face and giggled. "Fine, where do you think?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "There is a group of roofs we could see them from. It's not far from Ichiraku."

Hinata smiled and nodded. They both heard the call for their food and ate while walking towards the last shops. Neither felt like playing any games. Hinata had mentioned she wanted to get a new baby blanket for her sister Hanabi. So they both steered to a section of the festival that were selling clothing. Hinata was grinning widely at the small blanket she had chosen. It was light blue with images of bamboo on it. Sasuke saw a large soft brown blanket that was thick and warm. He bought it immediately. Hinata asked why and he just smiled at her. It was finally close to the time the fireworks would start and Sasuke led the way with his oversized blanket on top of his head. Hinata had to laugh a few times when the folded souvenir Sasuke bought was a little too much of a burden when he almost fell over from being too top heavy. He finally stopped and he tilted his head back to the top of a building.

They both looked at the building and new this would be the best spot. Sasuke grimaced when he started jumping up the fire escape with the heavy blanket on his head. Hinata followed with no real trouble. When they landed Hinata looked at the roof and wondered where they could sit, the roof had a rocky surface to reflect heat and there were a few leaves ono the places they could sit.

Sasuke solved the problem when he unwrapped the blanket and folded it so it was in half. They sat down on the roof and sighed contentedly. Sasuke fell onto his back and looked at the reddening sky and the clouds as they turned orange. Even when the blanket was folded in half it easily was larger than the two children, so it was with little effort that Hinata found room to do the same.

The fireworks finally started and they both clapped at a combination firework that started a chain that lit the sky. They were both torn away from the sky at the noise in the alley below them. They both walked to the edge and looked down. Several drunks stood there talking and singing. Hinata kept a giggle from falling out. They were horrible singers.

"Hey Sano, we got enough of this crap. We should go and do something." The speaker took his sake bottle and drank some more. The other men grunted.

"It's the Kyuubi festival, they should have brought that demon back here for us to finally do away with him." Shouted another drunk. They all stopped and someone vomited.

"Those ANBU bastards and their laws." Another man grunted in agreement.

"Living-seal my ass! I know evil when I see it. That kid should have done us the favor of letting his blonde head get burned." Shouted another one as the group walked through the alley. They finally passed and the only noise was the fireworks above the two children.

Hinata and Sasuke stared at the Alley for a few long moments. "Sasuke, did they…"

"Yeah. It makes sense now." Sasuke sat on the hard roof. He was in shock. "Everything does. What did we not think of it Hinata?"

Hinata started crying. "He was attacked on the anniversary. I knew that. I just never…"

Sasuke stood up and hugged her. A full year of investigating on their own was finally resolved by a few drunks. "We know now. So what do we do?"

Hinata looked at Sasuke and gave him her firm determined face. Her bottom lip was a little pushed up when she did this and Sasuke tried hard not to laugh. That face always made him laugh. "Naruto is Naruto. He was never evil. I believe in him."

Sasuke smiled and nodded. He had to admire the boy. To stand to all the hate they had both seen for years.

"So how do we send him a letter telling him we know and believe in him?"

Hinata smiled. "I think we can ask the Hokage. Not many people seem to know where he left to." Sasuke nodded and they returned to their blanket. The fireworks lasted for another hour and the two children felt the year had finally ended for them and a new one was starting.

- - -End Chapter 3 Confidence- - -

A/N: Arg! On the first draft of this I actually made it through the whole story without breaks. After that spoot. Oh well I wanted to see if I could make the transitions with out the breaks. Wow, it's all I can say to all the reviews from the last chapter, thank you so much. I still haven't responded to any of them but should have that posted on my yahoogroup on Monday when I can get back online. Check my profile if you wanted to look at the last chapters review responses.

Oh, there is one response I do want to answer here since I just got the review and its still fresh in my head. I was looking through the manga, and the episodes, and I Itachi, Sasuke's brother started at the ninja academy when he was 6 years old, and graduated that same year. I assumed that since Sasuke would be starting the same year as Itachi, that he would be six years old too. In this chapter I don't mention Sasuke birthday until the very end ,but that was just as a narration. I am assuming he had his birthday shortly after Naruto left. This would have made Sasuke six years old when Itachi murdered his clan. Thanks for Dreakon for opening that up. Any other comments feel free to put in reviews, email me or put it in the yahoo group.

Meh, no trailer for the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4 Sand

Chapter 4 Sand

The blonde boy was summoned for the first time in a month to speak with the Kazekage. He was nervous and had flexed his hands unconsciously all the way to the Tower. The last time he had spoken to his best friends father he had almost insulted the man and was not sure how he would react. The sand nin who were standing guard at the time almost attacked him for his lack of respect and thankless attitude. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and started walking with the father of his best friend. They had walked for a few minutes in silence until the adult said in his burly voice. "How has your stay been here young Uzumaki?"

Naruto looked up at the Kazekage and smiled widely. Naruto wanted to comment about the men who came to kill him and Gaara and the jounin who were supposed to protect them not lifting a hand but simple said, "Good! It was a little rough at first but I like this town, everyone is really nice."

The Kazekage smiled slightly. "Is that so? Very well then. If you have any problems with your demon, with Gaara or the village, please tell me, I will be sure to address the issue." He started walking down the hall towards his office, and Naruto followed him. The boy was half a step behind the man and gave a slight glare at the man. _Problems with Gaara my ass, jerk._ "On another issue, I wish to thank you." Two Sand nin opened the door for the two and the Kazekage looked out his office window. Naruto lost his glare and looked at the man when the Kage faced him.

"Thank me? For what?" They had found themselves in the same look out room where Naruto first met the Kazekage. Naruto walked next to him and saw that the sky had already set into a deep blue. The sun had set long ago, and the chill was already setting into the desert village.

The man looked at the sky line and stayed silent until finally he said quietly. "For my son." Naruto suppressed a slight twitch of his eyebrow. The Kage elaborated when the boy had no comment. "Before you had met him, he was becoming dangerously insane. There was no way for me to reach him, as I had only spoiled him as a father. His greatest friend was his uncle who I knew hated him, and the village feared him not because they thought of him as a demon, but for the power he could not control. When you had arrived at the village two months ago, he had inadvertently killed seven children when he was looking for a playmate."

Naruto looked at the man wide eyed. "And I changed that?" unable to say anything else, Naruto settled for shock to hold his voice.

The Kazekage removed the cloth that covered his mouth and smiled an honest smile. "I think you saved him when you showed him that you did not fear him and in doing so becoming his friend. For that alone the Village of the Sand owes you a large debt." The Kazekage bowed low to the boy who stood there stock still.

Naruto felt torn from the conversation. He didn't like this guy. The boy found himself saying. "Kazekage-sama, I don't deserve praise for being myself." Naruto returned the bow.

The Kage nodded and turned his back the boy. "Thank you for your time never the less Uzumaki. I expect great things from you and Gaara. Tell him he no longer needs to suspect assassins from me. I no longer see him as a threat."

Naruto bowed again and left. The door clicked shut and the Kage smiled. He knew his son. The boy would see the comment as an insult. He will either push the Uzumaki away or bring him closer to prove him wrong. Either way, his son was confirming that the Kage still held some power over him. At the moment, that is all the Kage needs.

-o-

Naruto slowly walked towards Gaara's home. He silently thought of what the jerk said and sighed to himself. He knew that he hated the man, but it was hard from him to get around that the man might respect him. He certainly acknowledged the demon container. He grounded out loud to himself. "Why does it have to be from him! The first adult I don't know who gives me this…" _And it's the guy that I already know I hate._

Naruto fumed silently and waved to a few people who were frequent customers to the Ramen stand he went to with Gaara. They waved back if only a little hesitantly. Naruto knew he was making progress when the lady at the stand took his money and when only a few people ran from Gaara when he walked with his friend through crowded places.

Narruto walked silently around a corner and saw that no one was around. He lifted his hand and concentrated his chakra on the sand he walked by. It shuffled near his feet when he walked. He still didn't know if he was actually doing anything or if it was him walking by or a breeze. He remembered his sensei laughed and looked down at Naruto only to state in very loud and clear words that no human can control sand. Gaara almost killed the teacher for that line. Naruto only stopped him by giving him a look. Although he agreed the guy was a jerk too. No one deserved to die unless they were trying to kill him or his friends. Naruto's face darkened. There had been plenty of those enough as it was…

Naruto banged the door open and Gaara looked up to Naruto. "How did it go?"

Naruto walked to the kitchen and Gaara followed. "He said the same stuff we thought he would say. And he says that now that you are more calm he won't send someone to try and kill you any more."

Gaara twitched his eye brow but nodded solemnly. While Gaara had lightened up considerably for Naruto's sake, he was still the stone cold boy everyone remembered when he dealt with his father the Kazekage. "What was the last thing he said?" Gaara knew there had to be a parting barb.

Naruto reached the top part of the fridge and jarred the freezer open. He jumped a few times to see what was inside while saying. "Something about you not being a threat to the sand."

Gaara scowled. "You really should start listening properly. I bet he didn't say 'to the sand'." Gaara sighed when Naruto stopped his train of thought and looked at him with open blue eyes. Naruto nodded after he thought about it for a few minutes.

"Damn, I guess your right. So that was an insult then?" The blonde boy guessed.

Gaara smiled and gave an exasperated laugh. "Yes, that was a parting blow to me. I refuse to live up to his expectations, and I'll be damn to let him think he can do anything to me." Gaara growled out the last part and the sand at his feet lashed back and fourth.

Naruto eyed the cool sand for a bit before he said. "It doesn't matter…" Naruto gave up on seeing what was inside the freezer by jumping. "We train," Naruto grabbed the chair at the table. "We kick ass," He emphasized kick when he kicked the chair to the over grown ice chest. "And then we become Kages." He jumped onto the chair and performed a victory pose to the red head. Naruto then turned around and stuck his head into the icebox. "Your father isn't going to be around forever."

Gaara smiled at the summery of their prospective lives. "I guess." Gaara visibly relaxed now that he was done thinking of his father.

"Come on Gaara, lets get some ice cream, your out." Naruto pulled his head out of the freezer and hopped off the chair.

-o-

"This is so stupid." Naruto clasped his hands together and went through the two hand gesture. "Bushin no jutsu!" A small white outline the ramen eating boy sat at his feet like a deflated balloon. "This is impossible! I can do henge fine, Kawarimi! No problem! Give me a few hours to make an illusion that has to be projected and I suck!"

"Keep at it Naruto. The sooner you are done the sooner we can go look for sensei." Gaara sat on the ground and made several animals made from his sand parade around the base of the palm tree he was under. "I know you are glaring at me Naruto," Said the red head with out looking up. "Quit it, this is a lot harder than it looks and I need to concentrate."

Naruto huffed and tried the clone jutsu again. The results had been the same and he just dropped to his feet. "It's not fair. Why don't you have to learn this?"

Gaara sighed and let the animals turn back into little piles of sand. He concentrated and a perfect copy of the boy sat next to Gaara made of sand. Naruto glared at his friend and felt his eye brow twitched. "Arg! That's it! Let's find that damn pervert-sensei!" Naruto grabbed Gaara by the collar. The red head gave an eep of protest before the sand clone fell apart. Gaara was dragged a few steps before his feet caught up to being underneath him.

They left the private study room of the Kazekage's tower and stood on the road that circled around the tower and connected to all roads in the city in some way. Gaara looked at the sun and knew it was still early morning. "If we are not going to listen to the perv, can we at least practice something while looking for him?"

Naruto nodded and hummed to himself while keeping his eyes close. "Let's treat this like a mission. We both know our hand signals. Maybe I can play a prank on him if we find him." Naruto grinned. Gaara knew it was the same grin that earned them this teacher.

Gaara looked at his friend. There were times he did not know what to say to the blonde boy. Finally Gaara asked, "Where is a good place to start?" Naruto had dragged him on these sensei hunts enough times to know it would take a while to find the teacher.

"Let's start with the bath houses." The two did not have any luck with the bath houses and both were actually surprised that the teacher was not there peeping. They decided on going in a random direction and started walking.

Naruto tugged at the tan scarf that protected his neck and head from the sun. His skin was lightly tanned and matched the browns and reds he had to wear since none of the hot day clothes that the village sold came in orange. Naruto grumbled about their sensei.

The teacher refused to do anything other-than give them one thing to do then ditching the boys. Nartuo smiled evilly and waved for Gaara to stop. He performed several hand signals and Gaara glared at him. _Scouting ahead, give__ me a minute. _Was what Naruto signaled.

Five minutes passed and Gaara had given up on being covert. The children would be getting out of class soon and Gaara hated the idea that he wasn't learning anything from their teacher. Ten minutes passed and Gaara was tempted to start looking for the other boy. He stood up from his sitting position against a building and looked around while keeping himself inside the shaded part of his spot. He smiled when Naruto rounded the corner, but it left just as quickly when he saw his best friend in a dead run.

When the blonde passed Gaara, the noisy brat shouted over his shoulder. "Run!" The boy of the sand didn't need to be told twice. It had been his experience in the past two months of being friends with Naruto that anything that looked like an emergency probably was.

"Why are we running?" Gaara asked when he caught up with the boy. They entered the crowd and still ran around the legs of the villagers who would yip when one of them ran into or over the innocent bystanders. The other boy laughed wildly. "Never mind." The two spotted their sensei and another sand jounin following them. Each sand nin wore a murderous expression. "No, I _do_ want to know. What did you do?" Gaara asked, irritation coloring his voice.

Naruto laughed loudly while the two weaved through the marketplace. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. They looked pissed don't they?" Naruto laughed again.

"I don't care if they _are_ under Kazekage-sama's protection; I am going to kill the blonde one!" One of the Jounin swore. Gaara saw what looked suspiciously like a hand imprint on that ninja. When Gaara asked, the question just made Naruto laugh harder. The adults were slowed by the crowd and lost sight of the two children several times before finding them again towards the opposite end of the crowd.

The second Nin shouted. "There they are!" He winced from an unseen injury before he followed.

After Naruto and his friend Gaara made it through the crowded market, they ran into an alley. Naruto grabbed Gaara's arm and pulled him against the wall. He threw up a cloth to match the wall and the two jounin passed right by. After he counted to five, Naruto dropped the disguise and laughed loudly. "Sorry Gaara, I had to get even with that guy for ditching us all those times." He sat and panted and Gaara joined him.

"Please tell me you didn't use anything I showed you." Naruto reddened but shook his head no. "What did you do?" Gaara whined.

"He made my girlfriend dump me." A dead angry voice answered. Both boys froze.

Naruto stood up and made a hand sign. "Strip Tease no Jutsu!" There was a sudden cloud of smoke and a half-naked adult woman stood in Naruto's place. The woman wore a string shirt that just barely covered the womans' breasts, fishnet leggings that stopped at mid thigh, accented the lack of anything that would normally be considered shorts. The bikini was more of underwear than actual swimwear. "But Ganju-sama…" The woman whined. Half of her shirt was ready to fall off her shoulder revealing her breast. "You promised me some special lessons tonight along with your friend..." Naruto wrapped his arms around the red Jounin and winked at the second. The teacher with the hand print on his face finally fell backwards with blood dripping from his nose. The second jounin shuddered in reflex to protect his groin.

Gaara just let out a loud groan. "Naruto you know we have to still put up with his tutoring." He looked at the man on the ground and was tempted to just kill him to not worry about the demerits the teacher would likely give them then decided against it. He would get more for killing him. Gaara hated demerits.

Naruto laughed. "What? It's not my fault those teachers at the academy didn't like my jokes. Even you thought they were funny."

Gaara tried to stop from snickering at the memory before he shouted at Naruto. "Not enough to get us kicked out!"

Naruto looked at the other man who was still protecting his groin. Naruto looked at the man sheepishly. "Sorry about the kick to the balls, I didn't think that ero-sensei's girlfriend would kick you." The man just whimpered before waving off deciding it wasn't worth the effort with his friend unconscious.

Naruto sighed, glad of his job well done. He dusted his hands and was about to ask Gaara what he wanted to do now when he heard the wind buzz right towards him. He only had enough time to see something black before an over sized folded fan nailed him in the head. He flew off his feet and rolled down the street until he stopped. His body crashed against a department store wall and a plume of dust and sand exploded on impact. He was still on the floor but raised his hand through the dust showing he was ok. "I still love you Temari-chan." He said shamelessly with his head still in the dirt.

Temari caught her fan in mid air as it rebounded off Naruto and slammed it against the blonde boys back side. "That's for women everywhere you little perv! Don't think for a second I didn't recognize you using that disgusting and degrading move on your private instructor!"

Naruto grumbled while rubbing his the sand of his face. "He had it coming! He had ditched me and Gaara twice to go peep at the women public baths. When his girlfriend showed up I knew I had to save her!"

Temari scowled but moaned out agreement if only to her self. It was a good reason to use that forbidden jutsu. "Fine but if I see you do it again I am going to lay you out so hard, you will be sore for months!"

Naruto just raised his hands. "ok, fine…" He wiped the blood off his lip and smiled at her. He tilted his head seductively. "So how about a date cutie?"

Temari still was not able to handle the sudden mood shifts the boy gave her. She caught her self blushing before scowling at him and threatening to swing her fan at him again. "So that's a no then." Temari huffed and started walking home. "Does that mean I get a rain check?" Naruto shouted after her sounding hopeful. He was satisfied when he heard her growl in frustration.

Kankuro had walked around the corner and saw her sister on a war path and quickly turned back around and back towards the school he just left. He could hide in the play ground for an hour to let Temari cool off.

Naruto relaxed his arms behind his head and grinned at Gaara, "She is an angel isn't she?"

Gaara looked at the guy on the ground still dripping blood from his nose and then to his angry sister walking towards their house before looking at his friend. "You are crazy Naruto."

Naruto didn't even blink. "So… sand sledding?" Naruto asked with a hopeful voice.

Gaara looked at his teacher and nodded. "Yeah…" His mind was already thinking of what to do since he didn't want to get punished for killing someone. "I think we should not be in town when he wakes up."

Naruto led the way towards the edge of town and played with the sand for a bit. He put his hand against the floor and sand move slightly. Gaara shook his head. The movement could have been from the slight breeze. "I can almost do it!" Naruto cried when the sand shuffled around his feet.

Gaara laughed. "Give it up Naruto, I can't even do it. It's my demons job, not mine, to use the sand. There are no real jutsu's as far as I know to work with the sand, just earth techniques that barely work with sand."

Naruto huffed. "That is such a waste! This is a desert!" his voice was louder than usual and it echoed through the desert ahead of them. "I mean… WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SAND! THIS PLACE IS CALLED THE HIDDEN VILLAGE OF THE SAND!" Several villagers turned to the frustrated boy and laughed while walking away from the two demon containers. Naruto huffed at the warm chuckles. "There have got to be a few techniques that I can do with sand!" Gaara laughed and raised his hands. The sand wrapped away from his feet and moved into the shape of a long wide floor. He curved what he decided was the front and the sides rose. Naruto first thought of the idea when he saw a few boats in a village he had passed on the way to the Village of the Sand. The first time the two tried it, the sled rolled over. It needed to be held on either side by something to prevent tipping over. Gaara figured it out by making the sand make two wings with baby sled feet. Naruto laughed at it at first but was satisfied when they worked.

"Ok Gaara I am ready when you are!" Naruto stretched and called for the fox inside of him. A solid red furred tail appeared at the base of his spine. The tail wound out of the waist line of his pants and out from under the tunic and scarf wrapped around his chest.

Naruto grabbed the goggles that hung loosely around his neck and put them on. When he placed his hands at the back of the sled, he grinned at Gaara. "You ready?"

Garra made two seats and a bar to hang onto with the sand and shook it to make sure the whole thing was a solid piece of sand rock. Gaara gave his most open grin. "Ready!"

"Here we go!" Naruto raised his red tail and it swept down fast. Naruto felt the pressure of his body pushing the sled for a split second. The sled burst with speed over the sand dunes half a second later. Naruto pushed with his arms and forced his tail to move one more hard push before he raised his legs to the edge of the sled and rolled into the speeding sand vessel. He walk several uneasy steps in the fast moving craft before he finally hopped into seat next to Gaara.

They both squealed when the sled was launched off of a sand dune and over three more and finally landing. The sled launched again still showing little sign of slowing down and Naruto and Gaara both leaned to the left when they approached a tall sand dune. They laughed loudly when the sled used the sloping dune as a track and turned their direction to another steeper sand dune. The two felt the sled slow slightly when it ran over flattened sand they had already run across but didn't mind it as it was their way to head back towards the village.

"I am skipping the tutoring session tomorrow!" Naruto yelled over the wind.

"What? WHY?" Gaara shouted when they floated in air before landing on another sand dune.

"I want to try and do something with the sand. Maybe I can make a new jutsu." Naruto grinned widely.

It was Gaara's turn to smile. He knew for a fact it was a pet peeve of his father that no one could copy his son's ability to handle the sand. The closest one was the man turned demon that now was inside Gaara. "You are just wasting your time Naruto." Both boys saw the town a few miles off and Naruto was just getting ready to give the sled another push when he screamed. Gaara looked at the boy in alarm. Naruto was pointing to something ahead of them. Gaara screamed too. It wasn't sand.

Gaara raised both his fists up into the air, and sand rose ahead of them in a sloping dune. It was enough for both Naruto and Gaara to lean into the sled and turn the speeding craft. There was a sudden thud when the turning sled ran right into another sand dune.

Both boys quickly got out of the sled as it fell apart. Naruto saw that Gaara was pushing the sand out of his way and walk up on top of the dune he made. Naruto jumped over the sled and ran up to see who they almost ran over.

He jumped down the dune and slid to a stop where the two women were standing. Both were surprised bye the boy. "Oie, obbaba you alright?"

The two women wore whicker hats to protect them from the sun, and light robes each carrying a travel pack. The black haired teen smiled and was about to make a polite reply. But the older blonde haired woman glared and punched the boy. "I am not an old lady!" Naruto flew back and was caught by an island of floating sand. The two women looked at the sand in surprise.

Gaara lowered himself to their level with the island of sand Naruto landed on floating next to him. He sighed at Naruto's antics. "Please excuse my friend. He isn't the most polite person I know." Again the raven haired teen was about to make a diplomatic reply when she was cut off.

Naruto shot up and shouted. "That hurt!"

Evil eyes looked back at the noisy brat. The older woman was not about to take insults from a person who could have run her over. "Then you should learn how to talk to a lady!"

The woman's companion interrupted, "Tsunade-sama please!"

Gaara looked at his friend in annoyance. "Naruto you should apologize, Temari would…" Gaara paused for a moment. He did not want to say kill, as he only used it when he meant it. "… hurt you if she found you insulting a 'lady'."

Naruto grumbled before he shouted back. "But she hits harder than Temari! No way I can call her a lady if she is that freakishly strong!" Gaara groaned before looking at the blonde woman named Tsunade. She gave Naruto a murderous glare and was about to take a step towards the boy when her friend grabbed the blonde woman's sleeve.

Gaara decided to stop the escalating shouts. He turned to the unnamed woman who was acting reasonable. "Sorry about almost running over you. The village never receives visitors from this direction, and we rarely need to worry about travelers."

"That is understandable; we are traveling from rock country to the Hidden Village of the Sand for the annual sake festival. My name is Shizune, my companion here is Tsunade-sama." Shizune glared warningly at Tsunade.

Tsunade ignored the glare she felt at her back and was looking at the dune with scrutiny. "How did you two do that?" She pointed to the sudden formation of the dune.

Gaara raised his hand. Sand pooled around his feet. "This is a hidden technique of my family. Only I am able to control sand."

The two women looked at each other in surprise. "I am trying to learn it!" Volunteered Naruto. Gaara shrugged at the outburst.

The blonde haired woman snorted. "I doubt you could do it brat, if it's a family technique that must be a blood limit. There are no sand jutsu."

Naruto glared at her. "And how would you know!"

Tsunade smirked. She removed the thatched hat from her head and her twenty year old face shined widely at the two boys. "Because I am Tsunade, the most talented medical nin, and one of the San-Nin of the leaf."

The playful banter of Gaara and Naruto dropped instantly. Naruto's glare hardened and his eyes showed his closed off emotions. Tsunade and her friend looked at the two boys in surprised. The black haired teenager tugged at her friends sleeve and nodded in Gaara's direction. The sand circled him quickly. The red head boy's glare matched the blondes'.

"Do you have something against the leaf?" Asked the teenager uneasily. The two boys who they couldn't think of more than as an annoyance were now showing themselves to be a threat.

Naruto answered in a cold voice. "I thought the villagers gave up on sending assassins a month ago." Two red furred tails sprouted from the base of the boys spine. He dropped his right leg back and raised his left hand to a fighting stance. "And now I see two women, one claiming to be one of the most powerful leaf shinobi, coming towards the Sand Village. Are you telling us you are not here to kill me."

Tsunade dropped her arms loosely to her sides and looked at the boys. "Who would you be that the leaf would have a contract on your head?"

Naruto scowled. "Not the leaf, the leaf's villagers. You would be their fifth assassin."

The women widened their eyes in shock. Why kill this boy? Tsunade saw the two red tails move out from behind the boy and had a sudden understanding. "What is your name brat?"

Naruto tilted his head forward and grinned at the two. "Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi demon container, and future Hokage of the Leaf."

Tsunade looked at the boy. Her mind was racing through what he just said. Finally she said. "I think I need to sit down." She began to fall to the ground and a chair made of sand caught her. She looked at the sand boy gratefully but he still held the look of a trained killer. Tsunade set her bag down and took out a bottle. "Give me a minute, I really need to sober up for a bit." The bottle was labeled water and she drank the whole thing in several seconds.

She let out a breath of air and set the bottle back into her back. She looked at the boy Naruto. "I haven't been to Konohakukre for almost seven years kid. Tell me what happened? The last I saw you, Sensei was wiping your ass."

Gaara immediately lost the feral look and snorted before placing back his mask. Naruto scowled at his friend. He looked up at the Sun. It would set in about an hour and they were still a ways from the village. "Lets get home first, We can eat at the Ramen shop. After that I will tell you why the villagers want me dead." His voice was bright when he mentioned food but turned dead when he spoke of the villagers.

Tsunade nodded solemnly and stood, "Let's head out then."

Gaara looked at the distance and really didn't want to walk. "We can give you two a ride if you promise not to try anything. Naruto might like you but I don't trust you." His voice was edged by the sand that whipped by his face. He spared little concentration on the sled and created it through memory. He dared not take his eyes of the two women who may or may not be assassins.

Tsunade and Shizune were amused by the form of propulsion the two boys used for the sled. The Kyuubi demon must love the idea that his vast powers are being used for the boy's amusement. Naruto and Gaara slowed the sled as it approached the entrance and the sled came to a stop with a little walking distance from the gate. The Sand Nin could clearly see who they were and Naruto shouted at one of the Nin he recognized. The ninja just scowled.

Gaara was tempted to get away from the two suspicious women but would never abandon his friend. "Naruto lets stop at my place and get my brother and sister, they will want to eat to." They started walking ahead of the two women and each had a hand in front of their body to signal each other. The two women behind them could not see the gestures or the argument that took place.

_I would feel better with more people who I know can back us up._

Naruto's hand moved furiously in reply. _No I don't want my Temari in harms way if they are assassins. And Kankuro is squeamish when I kill people. I don't want to have to avoid him for a week._

Gaara turned his head back to the two women who kept a respectful distance. _I trust your instincts. Are they a threat?_

Naruto sighed while looking at the sun. It was getting dark. He moved his index and ring finger up then to the left over his stomach. _No._

Gaara smiled, making sure the two women didn't see it and shouted to the entrance of his home. "KANKURO! TEMARI!" He was still agitated and winced when he realized that his voice sounded a little angry.

His siblings sprinted down the stairs with kunai and battle fan in hand. Their eyes were wide and both were breathing heavily with fear. Gaara blushed slightly not realizing that he did so. "S-sorry, I just wanted to have you two come down to know if you wanted to join us for ramen. Naruto's treat." He said quickly to placate his brother and sister.

Naruto just made a few muted noises but didn't object to buying Temari dinner.

Temari and Kankuro sighed in relief. Temari turned her ire to her brother. When Naruto gave her such a scare she switched to auto pilot and before she thought about her actions she walked up to her littlest brother and whacked him over the head with her fan. "Don't scare me like tha…" She stopped and realized what she just did.

She hit Gaara.

No one should even be able to physically touch Gaara. And the only one she knew who could was Naruto. The four children just gapped at what just happened. Temari looked at her fan in confusion before morbid curiosity led her actions again with out her brain signaling not to push her luck. She lifted her fan again and raised it over her brother's head and let it fall on to him. It hit solidly and Gaara finally shook his shock and glared at her.

"That hurt!" Temari screamed and jumped back only to slip and fall.

Gaara rubbed his head but couldn't help but smile. The sand trusted Temari. It was good enough for him. He walked up and reached out his hand. She took it gingerly and was pulled to her feet.

There was a cough and they all turned. Naruto and Gaara were ashamed to admit they had forgotten about the potential dangers the two women presented. "May I ask what that is about?"

Gaara looked at Naruto who shrugged. "Its stuff everyone knows about."

Gaara remember Naruto saying that the two women were no danger. "The sand that I control protects me from any perceivable threat. Because of it, I was not able to make physical contact with anyone I have ever met. My deceased Uncle and Naruto were the only ones who could actually do it. It is a shock that she hit me because the sand didn't try and protect me. The sand doesn't see her as a threat." Gaara stopped his lecture and rethought what he just said. He shuddered thinking what his father said.

Tsunade and Shizume nodded in understanding. "So what was this about ramen?"

Naruto smiled. It then turned into an impish grin. Temari shuddered and Kankuro stepped behind his sister. The two older women looked slightly confused until Naruto gave a little psychotic laugh. "Heh heh, ramen…" he drooled slightly.

The group of children led the two women to the Ramen stand Naruto identified as his. "Hey old man! It's dinner time! Shrimp Ramen!" Naruto shouted as he took his stool at the bar. Gaara sat next to him and the two women next to the sand boy. Temari glared at Kankuro who sighed before sitting next to Naruto to give her some buffering space. Naruto gave a grunt of disappointment before turning to the women. "Baa-chan," The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched. "Have you been to the Village before?" The others were done ordering and he felt since he should at least talk to the two adults.

"Once or twice. The festival that's starts in a few days tends to be one of the more spectacular the Sand village holds and that happens every year."

Naruto nodded his head. Temari looked at the black haired teenager who was with the blonde woman. The woman smiled at her before turning back to listening to Naruto.

"Oh? Ok so why haven't you been to the leaf if you are both nins?"

Temari and Kankuro suddenly tensed but continued eating. Gaara ignored the conversation and only the two women seemed to feel the sudden change of atmosphere. Tsunade smiled. "I am one of the san nin. We all seemed to split apart from the village after the war and with the sealing of the kyuubi I wasn't needed there." Tsunade finished her ramen and smiled at the bowl. "It was time to move on. There was nothing else for me there."

Naruto nodded mutely while ordering another bowl. He set down his third empty one and asked. "Who were the other two?"

Tsunade smiled at the boy. She was amazed how innocent he looked at the moment. She undnerstood he must not have had much history of the leaf if he was placed here. That thought still puzzled her. "Well, Jiriaya travels the world writing books. And Orochimaru…." She sighed. She looked at Shizune who just raised her eyebrow at the woman. "Orochimaru is now a missing nin. He did some illegal things and was angry he wasn't chosen as the next Hokage."

Naruto processed that while eating his fifth bowl of Ramen. "He wanted to be the Yondaime?" Tsunade only nodded. Naruto set down his bowl and pushed it away when he was done. He smiled widely to Tsunade. "Well he wouldn't be much of a Hokage if he got mad that he wasn't the next in line. If he really wanted to be Hokage he should have stayed and proved he was worthy of it." Naruto set his money down and nodded to the other kids that they were done. Tsunade looked at the boy with wide eyes. She shivered slightly before Naruto tugged at her sleeve. "Let's go to my place. We can talk there." He turned to his friends and said, "Hey guys I need to talk to them alone." He moved his hands in front of his stomach and performed several signals. _Please, I need to do this alone._ Gaara nodded. He turned and barked at Temari and Kankuro to follow before they had a chance to argue. Temari looked over her shoulder to the boy and the two older women before following her brother.

Naruto led the two women to his overly large apartment and motioned for them to sit on the couch. He sat on a chair across from them and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I should start with how I got here…"

Naruto started from the attack during the Kyuubi festival and watched to two women carefully. The blonde haired woman took the information in stride, but the teen looked very bitter.

"Then the assasins came…" Naruto sighed and scratched his head. He lost his smile. "The first ones were leaf chuunin." Tsunade gripped her hand against her knee and nodded for the boy to continue. "I sent them away back to the village as reach for peace. It didn't go well with them I guess…" Naruto concentrated and a red furred tail sprouted behind him. "Kyuubi said I needed a way to protect myself like Gaara had. My body isn't strong enough to handle him to send me chakra. So he made this. When the villagers found out, they sent more."

The tail disappeared and the women nodded. They sat and looked at the boy while he struggled to say what he wanted to say. "The second assassins were stone nin. Gaara helped me find out who they were working for before he killed them. I-I couldn't kill then. I was a little more disappointed than angry that they would send someone again." Naruto looked at the two women. "I guess you should know that Gaara has had his fair share of assassins as well. The next group of assassins that came for me were contracted to kill us both. It was when Gaara was in danger that I killed the team. I found out later, that they were mist nin. Jounin." Naruto's nose flared while he remembered the fight. He had forgotten about the screams he made them cried before he killed them. "I was so angry… That's where I got a second tail." He thumbed his back side. "After that, me and Gaara just watched over eachother. We teamed up to handle anyone who had come to kill us and we covered eachother."

The two women remained silent. Naruto let the silence pass. When someone spoke it was Tsunade who asked, "If the villagers want you dead so badly why become Hokage?"

Naruto smiled faintly. "I-I don't know if I will have friends when I return, I like to think they would want to be my friends. I made them promise they would send for me when they learn that I am the Kyuubi container. They are my age by the way." Tsunade nodded in understanding. "But even if they didn't, there are two people that became special to me. They went to look for me when I disappeared. Hinata-chan was worried. Uchiha was curious. It was like all the time before that didn't matter anymore. I could go back and know there were atleast two people that cared. Even if it was a little. It is worth being Hokage to protect them. If I have to protect the villagers while doing it, then I will protect them too." Naruto gave a helpless shrug.

"Thank you for telling us Naruto-kun." Shizune said. She looked torn when she saw the boy. He seemed so fragile at some moments and later hard as a rock.

Naruto nodded. The two women stood and began to leave still in deep thought of what they just heard. "Hey, can I ask you two something?"

Tsunade turned to the boy. "By all means."

"Do you think you can tell me about Konoha before the Kyuubi attack?" Naruto's face contorted unsure what he was asking. "I want to know what the town is like through someone else's eyes. I think I need to." He looked at the two women strait in the eye and they smiled. They returned to their seats and for the rest of the night Tsunade retold of her story of her time in the Hidden Village of the Leaf.

-o-

The next morning Naruto left his apartment while cracking his neck. He had let the two women sleep on his bed and him stay on the couch since they talked well past 1 am. He first woke scared that he was late for his tutoring session until he remembered telling Gaara he was skipping. He jumped onto a roof and then ran to the end of the village and out several miles. The sun was just clearing the tallest sand dunes and he knew it would get hot very fast. He knelt and cupped a handful of sand with one hand and moved his right hand into a half signal while he gathered his chakra. He opened his eyes and smiled at the sand. It was definitely stirring from his chakra. He smiled wickedly. "Yeah, I am making progress."

-o-

Tsunade woke on the overly large bed she shared with her traveling partner and sighed. She never was forced to relive her past, but that is what she did for the small boy she met the day before. She reached to her chest and gripped the necklace that hung around her neck. She got out of bed and saw Shizune sprawled and snoring still. Tsunade smiled and then left to the bathroom to wash up. When she looked around she was disappointed to see the boy had left. He left a note saying that it was nice to meet the two and he would see them around the village later.

Tsunade stretched and picked up her bag before calling out. "Oie, Shizune! Get up. We need to find our own place." Shizune yawned before she got out. She gave a grunt of disappointment for not seeing the little boy present either. "Move it Shizune." Barked the teenagers' master. Tsunade headed out the door and saw that the sun was in the sky for just over two hours. She started walking towards the western side of town. She needed to find a hotel and then find the boy.

Tsunade still didn't know why, but she felt she needed to speak to him again. In the back of her mind the boys' voice echoed 'Future Hokage of the Leaf.'

-o-

Gaara glared at his tutor. The one day the man decides to watch over the two kids was the day Naruto had to be absent. Gaara was forced to apply his chakra to the side of the Kage Tower and climb to the top. Gaara looked up at the building and sneered. The sand stone was loose on the western side as that was the side that received the most damage form the wind. And incidentally that was the side the Jounin ordered Gaara to start walking up on. Gaara did not need to worry about falling as his sand caught him in mid air, but when he fell, the jounin told him to start again from the bottom.

Gaara stood at the base of the tower and placed his hand against the wall. The sand was firmer here than it was the higher it got. He looked up and could see sand scatter gently when a gust of wind hit the tower. He shook his head suddenly when a few grains of sand fell into his eyes. Finally Gaara placed his hands together to concentrate more chakra and started walking again.

Silently he was thankful for pervert sensei to be there. He was actually helpful when Gaara had to figure out how to manipulate his chakra. He never received the classes since chakra was a subject he would not normally cover until he was a few years older.

"Take a break Gaara-sama. Go eat some lunch. Then you should be done for the day. This is a hard excersie and I did not expect you to complete it for a long while now. We will return to it every other day until you can complete this."

Gaara nodded and looked back to the tower. His father was there. The red haired boy shivered thinking about that man.

"Excuse me? May I have a bowl of Ramen?" Asked Gaara uncertainly. He had reached Nartuo's favorite Ramen place, and always felt conscious here. Especially when Naruto was not there to help him.

The woman tensed but nodded. "What kind do you want?"

Gaara gave a weak smile before he gave his order and sat on the stool at the bar. The sand pooled at his feet and he forced himself to not let it move. People always were scared when it did. When the bowl was set in front of him, Gaara gave a heartfelt thank you. The woman's eyes softened slightly before she returned to the kitchen. Gaara ate his bowl slowly. He felt the eyes on his back and forced his sand to stay still. He knew people didn't like him, and were scared of him. Naruto explained that people don't' like it when others kill their friends. Gaara nodded silently to that lecture and did not think about it until he thought what it would be like if someone killed Naruto. Since then Gaara made an effort to control his sand where as before he did not give a second thought to what it would do to others.

He remembered Naruto saying that he just had to prove that he was different than what he was before. Gaara slurped his noodles and thought about his sand. It was what marked him different from everyone else. Even his teacher did not like it when his sand moved around when Gaara walked.

The sand boy finished his ramen and paid wave a good bye to the woman. Gaara had to find Naruto. He was not worried about his being in trouble. Naruto could take care of himself. But he had not seen his friend since last night. The sun was at its zenith and the day was getting close to when it would be its hottest. Gaara began searching for his best friend while thinking what he can do to make his sand not just scare everyone.

-o-

Naruto stood at the base of a sand dune using what little protection he could to shade himself. He was sweating hard. But he could not tell if it was from chakra practice or from the heat. He clapped his hands together and poured all his chakra into the sand at his feet. He ran his hand quickly over the sand and the chakra that was in the ground followed. A gush of sand flew into the air and landed on the dune. Naruto fell to the ground panting. "Not yet. I can't do anything with this. I need to control my chakra better." He wiped his forehead and sighed.

He thought about how Gaara and his brother and sister controlled their chakra. Gaara had to control both his emotions and his chakra other wise it could kill someone. Kankuro was just lurning how to make chakra strings to control some kind of wooden doll. Naruto laughed at that until he saw the needles and knives that were inside it. That just creeped the little boy out. Naruto smiled when he thought of his Temari-chan. She poured chakra into the wind her fan makes but its different from what he was doing with his sand. She controlled the bursts of chakra and they came out as sharp as a knife.

Naruto started walking towards town again. He was too tired and had a lot ot think about. He still played with the sand on his way home, it was good to practice dragging sand around with him.

Tsunade saw the boy she had stayed with the previous night walk into town with a sweat drenched shirt. he waved to her when he saw her. "Hey there Tsunade-obachan." Tsunade glared at the boy. As soon as she said when some moments of her life took place he knew she was far older than she looked. She nodded to him and they started walking towards the center of town where Naruto's apartment was. Naruto looked at her and smiled. He knew for a fact she did not smile like that often. She did look young when she smiled, and he wondered if it wasn't jjust from the illusion. Naruto's eye widen with a sudden idea. "Tsunade, that young age thing, you use it all the time right?"

Tsunade said carefully, "Yes… why do you ask?"

"Does it use a lot of chakra? I mean to do it all the time, you would need to measure out your chakra or you would be tired all the time."

"I am a medical nin, I have to learn how to control my chakra in precise movements."

Naruto grinned. It was similar to the night before when they were about to go to eat ramen except there was no drool. "Do you think you can teach my some chakra control techniques?"

Tsunade nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

Naruto grinned. "Anything really, I suck at controlling chakra."

Tsunade nodded. "It might be from the demon seal."

Naruto thought about that. "So what are you going to teach me?"

"We can start with chakra molding." She escorted the kid far from the residential district and into a small park that was enclosed near the oasis. It had its own fountain and was one of the few places in the village that was green. "Show me how much chakra you can gather and put it into a technique you know. "

Naruto nodded and thought what he could do. After a moment he did Bushin since he could never do it right. Maybe she could fix it for him. It is a technique of the leaf.

Tsunade formed several seals and moved her open palm towards the demon boy. As a medic nin Tsunade was trained to find traces of Chakra in the human body, and even measure accurately how much chakra a person was exhaling. Her eyebrow twitched as she felt the chakra the boy was molding. Tsunade heard him sigh in disappointment. Two clones sat at his feet, but barely looked like him.

Tsunade waved for him to stop and thought about what she was going to say. "Come here kid, I think I know what you mean." She squatted and pulled up some sand in her hand. Naruto squatted too and looked at what she was doing. "When someone molds chakra, they used that chakra for a technique right?" Naruto simply nodded. He didn't know, but if she said so, then it was true. "Now, if you use too little chakra you can't perform the technique, and if you use too much you can, but you may feel too tired to do so again. That is where control comes in. So, this is me for using bushin …" She poured an exact amount into a small pile. "That is the exact amount of Chakra I need to perform a jutsu. Now here is your chakra, while you mold chakra for the technique." She said with a smile. She started to pour the same amount of sand into another pile then continued until the pile was three times what she needed. "And this is how much you use of that." She brushed the sand pile away leaving a third of what she had.

Naruto just gawked. "Wh-what happened? Do I just let it all go?" he dropped his head in embarrassment.

"You simply loose focus Naruto. You mold so much chakra, you can control it all at once. Try doing the technique but use half as much chakra that you had gathered the last time. And concentrate on making two bushins again."

Naruto nodded and performed the seals before he opened his eyes and smiled. There stood two bushins that looked half way decent. One was slightly taller than him and the other looked slightly pale. "I did it!" He released the seals and the two bushins disappeared. "So anything else I can learn now?"

Tsunade nodded thinking about the boy. He was an eager learner. Almost as much as Shizune. "Give me a second to think. Why don't you go get us something to drink." She pulled out a few coins and handed them to the boy before she sat down on a bench. The small park was not crowded and those who were there were on the other side of the park being mindful of the strange woman and the demon boy she was talking to. She saw Naruto leave the park and wondered where Shizune was.

-o-

Naruto started walking towards the store. He made a short cut through an alley and decided to apply the idea that he was using too much chakra, and not enough focus on his sand. The sand still shuffled around his feet and when he raised his hand sand began to climp up into the air and towards his hand. He smiled and let it go before leaving the alley, he still didn't' want anyone to laugh at him for trying to learn make a sand technique. When he got the soft drinks he headed back and shouted. "Gaara!" The boy smiled and walked a little faster to his friend.

"Naruto where have you been? I couldn't' find you anywhere."

Naruto smiled. "I am learning some tricks about chakra control. Come on."

Gaara glared at his friend. His body couldn't' even mold chakra right now. There is no way he could participate in what ever his friend was doing. He followed and waved to the woman he met the other day. Naruto just remembered something. "I'll talk to you about what happened last night later. She is my friend now. Her and that one girl with the black hair." Gaara only nodded and listened to Tsunade lecture about Chakra control while she had Naruto and Gaara who was slightly interested mold the little amount of chakra as possible and perform a given technique.

Shizune had finally found the three after looking in every single bar and casino in town. She glared at her master then at the two boys. She smiled at Naruto who looked cute when he pouted.

-o-

The next five days forced Naruto to look at his own chakra. Tsunade and later Shizune would talk to him about his chakra, and taught him things only a medical nin would know. Gaara would return from his tutoring session as Naruto adamantly believed that these two women knew more than that pervert sensei knew and never asked what Gaara was learning.

Gaara merely shrugged off his friend and learned to walk up the tower while slowly taking in what Tsunade said about chakra. Naruto slowly started to notice Gaara's eyes get darker and redder. Naruto knew it was close to the time for Gaara to pass out for the month but found that he hated that the demon inside his friend would force him to do it.

Gaara explained that he had a lot of nightmares and had to constantly fight his demon during his sleep. That left little time to actually rest until his body simply gave up on him for a while.

Naruto found himself in front of Gaara's bed room the next morning. His best friend was sleeping in and had unconsciously barricaded the sand against his door to not anyone in. "Get up you lazy brat! We got training to do." Naruto kicked Gaara's door loudly. Naruto could barely make out the noises the other boy made before he gave one more loud kick.

When nothing else happened, Naruto sighed. "Well if he isn't up now then there is no way he can get out of bed for the next few days." Naruto headed down stairs and sighed. Temari and Kankuro were at school, Tsunade and Shizune were passed out and Gaara will be out for a long time now.

Naruto went out the back door of Gaara's house and sat on the stone steps. He waved his hand and sand began to follow him up the stairs and next to him. He realized a few days ago that he was forcing chakra to stay into the sand now, rather than forcing chakra to move the sand like he was a week before. Now he was trying to make the sand condense on it self. He felt the push to finally learn a technique. It has been a while since someone had come to try and kill him, but he hated having the fox kill for, or defend him. He needed to learn something that no one can copy or counter.

The day ended for him when he walked down town by himself. He had spent most of the day burning chakra into the sand in Gaara's back yard. With a yarn Naruto entered his ramen shop and ordered three bowls of beef ramen to come right after the other. The man shouted and started to cook the beef as fast as he could. There were a few customers who laughed at the shouts of the man as he loved cooking beef, and not many people ordered it since it was so spendy.

Naruto yawned again and blinked away the tiredness and started heading back to his apartment. The sake festival was almost over. There were only a few days left, and He wondered what Tsunade and Shizune would do when they had no reason to stay here. He wanted to learn more of the village and why others thought it was so important. Old man Hokage said that despite its faults he loved the village. And that was after the villagers tried to kill him. Naruto rolled Shizune's own memories of Konohakure around his mind. She had said there were many people who were happy with the wars over and no future to worry about. They could just live their lives.

Naruto thought about the few people he cared about and nodded that the old man Hokage and the owner of the Ichiraku were both happy. And even Ayame-chan was happy to work for her father. That just left his two would be friends. He still shuddered when ever he thought he might loose those two. He hadn't even spoken to them long, but it was enough to feel that he was wanted in a place where there were only memories of being hated and shunned. He knew he wanted to live in Konoha. It was the only place he felt at home. And he knew that the Village of the sand was only a temporary home.

Naruto mm'ed for a moment and decided to check up on Temari and Kankuro since Gaara was going to be out for a while. He kicked open the front door. "Oie, Temari-chan!" He walked in and noticed that no one was downstairs. "That's weird, it's too early to sleep, and they don't like to go out after six." Naruto walked into the kitchen and noticed that their dinners were not touched yet and were still steaming. Naruto felt something in the pit of his stomach and walked up the stairs silently. The hallways were dark and Naruto let out a feral growl. Two red furred tails sprouted from his back and he lowered himself to all fours and walked down the hall sniffing.

He smelled Temari and Kankuro's smell. They were still fresh. He had not smelled anyone else and peered into the two's bedrooms risking personal injure if nothing was wrong and entered Temari's room for nothing. The room was empty as well as Kankuro's. Naruto growled and he walked to the room at the end of the hall way. Gaara's room was still quiet and the sand that had barricaded the boy in was still there. He pressed his nose against the sand and smelled Gaara. He was about to stand on two legs again when his head snapped to his left. There was something else. Both tails spread out and flapped down. Naruto went strait through the wall and into the next room and he saw both Kankuro and Temari laying on the floor. He nudged them with his head and sighed when they were only unconscious. He turned his head to look at the room and was met with five flying Kunai. He jumped onto the ceiling and growled from his four legged position.

"Why are you here?" Naruto said in normal as possible voice.

Seven ninja slowly peeled off the shadows of the room and silently studied the latest child they had come across. One ninja pointed two fingers at the boy and four ninja charged him. Naruto growled and both tails reached and pulled Temari and Kankuro away from the assassins. His tail set them against the far wall while he dodged several kunai and fists. When he let the two friends go, he caught one nin's hand and twisted. There was an audible snap and the man was able to pull back and let his broken fore arm fall to his side. He looked at the little boy unwaveringly. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the group. He looked to his left and saw that the sand barrier had taken part of this rooms wall. They were trying to burrow through it to the unconscious boy. "You are not harming Gaara." Naruto raised his fist and punched into the air. A wave of chakra exploded towards the group of men.

They simply moved aside and charged the boy. Naruto pulled out a kunai and it was immediately covered in chakra. He raised his knife and sliced cleanly through one mans' arm. The man did not make a noise but pulled back like the first one. Naruto glared at the group. No one was making a noise. Steps, voices. Or even breathing.

He dismembered two more ninjas' before the leading ninja waved his whole hand at the boy. Two ninja held back and the rest charged Naruto. His tails and fists were quickly caught and his body was pinned down against the ground. He roared wildly and he saw someone cut open his shirt. One of the nin who hung back pulled out a scroll and placed it over his stomach before he shouted. "Fuuin!" He then slammed his fist into the scroll over Naruto's stomach.

Nartuo laid there with the wind knocked out of him and his body was in shock. He suddenly felt his body weaken and the tails disappeared. Naruto barely had enough strength to keep his eyes open and he was bound quickly. The leader nodded to his group before returning to the sand dome.

Naruto struggled against the bonds and slowly became aware he could not speak feel the kyuubi's presence anymore. He struggled more when he tried in vain to summon the foxes power. Three ninja stood in front of the sand and began to go through several hand symbols before placing their fists against the sand and slowly burrowing through the protection.

Naruto saw the sand fall loosely onto the ground and began to worry. It did not regenerate like it should. He knew Gaara was in trouble then. The sand could not protect him if it was not responding like it should. Naruto growled and struggled more but was suddenly pressed against the ground by three nin. He felt the grain of sand against his face and his eyes widened. _If I can't do this now its not going to matter later. We'll all be dead._ He thought grimly.

Naruto closed his eyes and let his chakra seep into the sand that was on the floor. He suddenly heard Tsunade's voice about control ring through his mind. He gave a long unsteady breathe. He opened his eyes and exhaled. Sand on the floor slowly scattered throughout the room. Fine grains floated into the air. None of the nins noticed the extra sand that did not settle and the leader nin smirked thinking that the sand was a sign that they were making progress. Naruto's breathing went ragged while trying to concentrate. He had never made sand into anything dense and suddenly had an idea. He remembered the Kazekage take off the cloth mask that covered his face and smile. These nin had nothing covering their mouths. Naruto smiled wickedly into the floor and made the sand thin.

He felt his chakra flow into each person's lungs and when he thought enough of it was in there he gritted his teeth and thought _Explode!_ At once all seven assassins started choking. The ones that held Naruto fell to the ground. One was already dead and the other two were on their way. He stood up and removed the arm that was still trying to hold him. He looked coldly at the leader who smirked before pulling a tag off his chest. It sizzled for a second and Naruto immediately thought of Temari. He swung around and jumped on top of Temari and Kankuro. He valiantly thought to throw some weak sand over him before the sound of the fizzing stopped. Half a heart beat later, Naruto screamed in pain when the fire from the explosive tags erupted and scorched his back.

When the roar died Naruto could only hear his ragged breathing.

Pant… Pant… Pant…

Naruto swallowed the spit in his mouth and looked up. The sand had kept it shape but the room was obliterated. The center where the leader stood had a whole in the floor with part of the ceiling falling down two floors. He saw several bodies strewn across the ground. They were already dead when the leader activated the explosive tags. Naruto sighed glad that it was just a sacrifice attack. The leader probably knew he was dead when he pulled off the tag.

Naruto nudged Temari's face gently. "Hey gorgeous, you awake?" he asked. The pain on his back was finally getting to him. He knew he didn't have much time. He never felt this much hurt before and suddenly realized how much the Kyuubi healed him after a fight. He ran his hand over his stomach and it still felt hot from what ever the men did.

Naruto fell ontop of Temari no longer able to hold himself up and he groaned in pain. "Temari-chan… please wake up." Naruto felt a tear well up in his eye. She should have woken up already, and Naruto was getting worried. "Temari.. Kankuro get up.."

Temari finally stirred and naruto smiled weakly. Temari opened her eyes and saw naruto's tear filled eyes looking back at her. "Naruto? What's goin-" She stopped when she saw the room they were laying in. "Naruto!" She looked at the boy and his eyes were closed. She lifted herself slightly to try and push him off her and she screamed. Naruto's back was drenched in blood and his legs and sides were scorched. "Naruto!" She held up his head and saw he wasn't breathing.

"God!" She had him lay on his side and started to force air into his lungs. She never learned how to do it properly, but she new the air had to go into the lungs not the stomach. She plugged his nose and forced his head back slightly. "Breathe damnit." She started breath into his mouth again and she didn't realize she couldn't' see the boy in front of her anymore. Tears were blinding her. "Come on Naruto, please. Breathe!"

She slowed the effort when nothing was happened and she just clutched his head while crying. There was a sudden cry and three sand nin fell in front of the hole the explosion made on the side of the house. The woman Temari recognized that was with Naruto fell into the room with the black haired teenager close behind. She immediately locked onto Naruto's blooded soaked back and felt her knees weaken. She ran up to him and tried to looked at what happened. "Shi-zu-ne, pl-ease help me with him." Tsunade's voice shook violently at the sight of the blood and she used her coat to wipe away the majority of it.

"Yes Tsunade-sama." She performed several hand seals and slowly ran her hand through the boys back side. The bleeding had stopped a few mintues ago and he only needed to be cleaned and bandaged. Tsunade tore her eyes away from the blood and closed her eyes and placed her hands on the boys scorched back. She first had to make the boy breath again. She let Chakra flow through the boys system and forced the lungs to exhale hard. Naruto's body then sucked in large amounts of air. She then concentrated on the chakra in the heart and slowly sped up the intervals of the heart from no beats to a stead rhythmic beating. Naruto let out a whimper. Temari watched this as she had held the younger boy. She hugged his head to her chest and cried thankful that he was breathing.

Tsunade smiled at the girl and Shizune sighed in relief. Naruto would be ok.

-o-

Naruto's eyes fluttered open and he found himself in a white room. His body was tucked in the bed sheets and he heard a steady rhythmic beep. He turned his head and saw the machine was measuring his heart beat. He closed his eyes and sighed before falling back asleep. When he awoke again he looked over and saw Gaara sitting next to him just staring. Naruto smiled. "You are right Gaara, when some one stares at you, it is hard to concentrate."

Gaara grinned widely. "Great to see you with enough wit to be a smart ass."

Naruto nodded before he asked, "How are Temari-chan and Kankuro."

Gaara's face turned grim but said, "Kankuro is ok, but Temari has been worried about you since you were in bed." Kankuro walked into the room and waved before sitting down on a bed next to Naruto's.

"She was worried about me?" Naruto felt his chest become light and grinned stupidly. Kankuro snorted before looking at the door.

Temari peeked her head in before she burst into the room and hugged the Uzumaki. "Yes I was." She let him go before she ran her knuckles across his head gently. "You scared me!" She hugged him again and then let go when she heard Gaara laugh.

"What happened after I passed out?"

Gaara's face fell then and his face was cold. "Tsunade saved you."

-o-

Tsunade entered the Kages' office and batted away a jounin body guard like the fly he was. She glared at the Kazekage. "Would you now like to explain to me why your nin simply stood outside that house while Naruto was dieing?"

The Kazekage looked at her levelly. "Tsunade-dono, you know that those were more than mere nin, my men were ill equipped to fight against sound nin. They were waiting for reinforcements before they entered the fray."

Tsunade cut him of with a simple glare. "I don't believe for a moment they would hang back after the threat was over. They endangered a member of Konoha for their negligence."

The Kazekage knew he could not excuse their behavior even as he had ordered them not to interfere. "Very well, they will be disciplined. Is there anything else?"

Tsunade felt her nostrils flare. The injustice of this was infuriating. "There is nothing else Kage-sama." She bowed and began to stalk out of the office.

"Tusnade-dono…" She slowed and turned her head back to the man. "Uzumaki killed seven Sound Jounin, using sand and with out the aid of the demon sealed inside of him. I think I am allowed the lessening of protection over the boy. Since he seemingly able to do the impossible."

Tsunade's anger fizzled there. She merely bowed again before leaving the office.

-o-

"The ninja made special waves of sound that weakened my sand, and since I was asleep, I couldn't do anything about it. Same with Kankuro and Temari, they fell asleep eating I think." Temari and Kankuro nodded.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Shizune's head popped inside. She looked around and saw the two guests. She smiled when she saw Naruto was awake. "Hey kid, you look a heck of a lot better than you did last night."

Naruto smiled back. "Thanks to obachan and you."

There was a huff from behind Shizune and the oba-chan walked in. "It's good to know I am appreciated Naruto-kun."

Kankuro choked. It was the first time he saw Tsunade with out the robes that protected her from the sun. She wore her traditional blouse and over jacket that had a low cut over her endowment. Everyone looked at him with his jaw was wide open and his hands in cups. There was a slight trail of blood from his nose as he stuttered out "huge". Temari and Tsunade both hit him on the top of the boys head.

Naruto smiled and then lowered his head in a bow to her. "Thank you Tsunade."

"You're welcome. I came to see how you were doing?"

"I am fine, the doctor said I will be out of here in a few hours."

Tusnade nodded and looked over to Shizune who prodded the other woman into action. "Naruto, how would you feel if we stayed here a little longer to train you?"

Naruto burst into the biggest grin that was reserved only for impending ramen. "You mean it?"

Tsunade's reserve vanished. "Absolutely, and we do have to help you with control, not that you are creating a new set of jutsu."

Gaara looked interested. "New set of jutsu?" He looked over to Naruto who smiled.

"Open the window Gaara." The boy got off the bed and opened the window. Naruto simple concentrated and a long string of sand flew through the window and pooled into the boys hand. "This is what she is talking about."

The sand sat there and then floated into the air again. It circled him once before he let it settle back into his hand. Temari and Gaara just stared at him. It was then that Kankuro burst into laughter. "Sorry, but Gaara, your face…" he continued to laugh and Naruto joined him.

Their laughter died, and Naruto looked to Tsunade. "There were other nin there weren't there?" He sighed when she nodded. "Sand nin?" She nodded again. "So I guess we won't need to worry about Gaara's dad's assassins, we just need to worry about them not helping use when others come." Gaara looked impassively to the two older women.

"Yes. I think so Naruto." Gaara thought about the situation and then asked, "How did they know about my sleep? No one knows."

Naruto shrugged, but Tsunade looked at the boy. "Your sleep?"

Gaara smiled evilly. "I am Gaara of the desert. Inside me lies the one tailed demon Shukaku."

Tusnade nodded. That reminded her. "Naruto lift up your shirt I just remembered something I should have done."

Naruto raised his shirt. "Now mold some chakra for me. I need to see your seal."

Naruto followed her orders and saw the seal had several more additions to it. Then he felt the air leave his lungs as his stomach pushed his lungs into his ribcage. He sucked the air back in slowly and glared at the woman who had a smug look on her face. He looked back at the seal and laughed. The other seals were gone. Naruto closed his eyes and felt the Kyuubis presence. The fox was irritated but stay silent.

"Tsunade-obachan do you know a lot about these kinds of seals?"

Tsunade smiled, "All three sannin helped the Fourth Hokage create your seal." Tsunade let out the fact that it was probably because of the rouge san nin that he had a seal on his stomach in the first place. When she looked at Naruto he was ready to ask a question. "What is it Naruto?"

"Do you think you can do something for Gaara?"

Gaara made several choking noises and Temari and Kankuro moved a few feet away from him. "Hey Gaara, lighten up. I know you need to sleep. Can you please try Tsunade? He has to fight his demon daily. I think he earned the right to be able to have some kind of help."

Tsunade nodded. "I can see what I can do." She smiled at the boy who suddenly flushed at the woman in front of him.

-o-

Months passed and Naruto celebrated his birthday for the first time in his life. Tsunade and Shizune were still there, and the assassination attempts stopped after a second try with a platoon consisting of three four-man teams. Word spread that Uzumaki Naruto of the leaf had mastered the ability of using sand as a weapon were nin of the sand could not.

Gaara and Naruto were inseparable and the two young boys were endeared to few businesses of the village as both patrons and as friends. The villagers called them the sand brothers, and those who were waiting for them to become ninja already called them Brothers of the Sand.

- - -End Chapter 4 Sand- - -

A/N: Alright I managed to finish this chapter while in the midst of fall mid terms. Ah, yes midterms the six consecutive weeks, where papers, reports, presentations and tests are given to the poor college students with merciless wonton.

Thank you all for your reviews. I'll try and get some reviews answered, but I don't know if I can for chapter 3's reviews or not.

Three weeks are down three more to go for me. I'll see you all next chapter! Ehe, I have no clue when the next chapter is coming out while I am still in this swamp of papers and Word documents.


	5. Chapter 5 Visit

Chapter 5 Visit

"Why does it have to be me every time?" The brown haired boy just left his things on the ground when he was given the message. He ignored the shouts from the sentries at the gates and ran strait into the desert. He cursed himself thinking he should have at least brought himself some water, but this was too important to waste time. Everyone had been waiting for it. Their friend had been slowly falling apart when he didn't receive a message from Konoha after the first five months. The day after the blonde's birthday he didn't leave his apartment. Gaara talked to Naruto for the whole day. Naruto soon after made a ritual of going to the Kage's office everyday to see if there was any message from Konoha for him. Temari felt sad for the little boy and Shizune would treat Naruto out for ramen when he looked especially bothered.

Kankuro slowed to a jog to catch his breath and kept running in the direction he thought everyone was going to be at. He was just the one that happened to be around town when it came in. He shivered remembering several jounin pointing at him to deliver the message. When Naruto and Gaara are training, no one wanted to be around as several Sand Nin found out the hard way. Two of their bodies were never recovered from the sand. His brother's battles with sand turned miles of desert into a death trap for everyone. Kankuro grimaced slightly when he stumbled across a sand dune. Gaara and Naruto promised that they would be careful when he or Temari would come to tell them something. But it usually ended with some uncomfortable pain. He remembered Temari's sand blasted burn across her arm. Even after busty-hime healed it, Temari couldn't use her fan for a week.

Kankuro let his body slide down the sand dune and jumped into a quick run. When he was a mile out of the village he saw the plume of exploding sand and turned slightly in that direction. He immediately saw that tower where Temari and busty-hime were watching from. Tsunade built it to observe both boys after they returned with almost identical injured arms. Kankuro duct past sand as it flew from behind him and wrapped itself around Naruto. There were several more explosions where Kankuro protected his face and finally made it to the tower. He jumped up the ladder and climbed as fast and carefully as he could. Sand beat his back and currents of air shook his body, forcing him to stop climbing and just grip the ladder for dear life. When he made it to the top Tsunade helped him to the canopy. "Rest kiddo." Kankuro thankfully dropped onto a hammock and sighed at the shade from the sun. He felt the lady's soft touch over his face and dared not open his eyes. He already knew that if he did, he would do something he would regret. Like stare at her chest. "You can get up now."

"Naruto got his message in today. Are they almost done?"

The group stumbled when the tower shook. "SORRY!" Gaara shouted before resuming his exercise.

Shizune and Temari watched the fight below them. Shizune cupped her hands to her mouth and cheered. "Don't give up Naruto-kun!"

Temari just watched too stubborn to cheer for either her brother or her friend.

Naruto was at the base of the tower. He had a dome of sand protecting him from sand shuriken that Gaara was constantly pelting him with. Naruto let a small hole open into his dome to allow light and knelt on the sand. He performed two hand seals and placed his hand into the sand. The sand parted and he fell into the hole. His chakra felt a dip in his chakra reserves from the skill and Naruto had to shake his head. The technique shouldn't be taking that much chakra.

The tunnel ended just below Gaara. Naruto smiled wickedly and performed a simple genjutsu along with the sand coffin technique Gaara showed him. Naruto giggled to himself.

Gaara was still on the surface staring steadily at the sand dome. He would stomp his foot and large amounts of sand flew into the air in front of him. He then whipped his hand across it and thirty sand shuriken flew at the dome. "Move it Naruto, we don't have all day. Kankuro is here too."

Gaara looked down and saw a long lashing tongue of sand wrap him before two large walls rose from the ground and clamped on him. The spectators just gapped at what they just saw, a fox head just ate one of the boys. The head exploded a moment later. Gaara glared at the ground before he pointed his hand down at the ground and close his hand. The whole desert shook and Naruto's tunnel collapsed.

Gaara raised his hand quickly for the sand to protect him when a small circle of sand moved. It was a real shuriken. He jumped into the air as seven more flew from the sand to where he stood. When he landed a hand gripped his ankle. "Wha!"

Naruto pulled his feet from under his friend and began to swing him around before letting the red haired boy go in a large arc through the air. When Gaara landed he regulated his chakra to not slip on the sand dune. The action was enough for Naruto to get into close quarters. The two began exchanging fists. Gaara had an easier time using sand, but Naruto it who was the taijutsu user.

Months ago when starting their training in earnest, Gaara found a flaw in the sand. When it trusted a person, it would not defend him from that person at all. Naruto had a laugh riot for three whole weeks when he kept plowing Gaara into the sand at all hours until Gaara learned the basics of hand to hand combat. Gaara could no longer rely on the sand anymore. And with Tsunade's help he was happy that he didn't have to. It was one more step he found into living as a normal person in a life that seemed more and more surreal.

Naruto pushed the other boys arm away and had a clear shot of his best friends chin. Gaara's head snapped back sharply. In mid fall, Gaara made the sand below his friend part. Naruto fell in and the sand poured over him covering the hole.

Gaara stomped his foot and instantly felt where Naruto was among the sand. He knelt onto the ground and reached his hand into the sand dune. When he stood up and pulled his empty hand back out, a gigantic arm of sand followed him and floated into the air with something in its hand.

Naruto just started laughing when he couldn't move. "Ok, ok you win." Naruto looked at Gaara and broke free of the hand. Naruto fell to the ground and noticed the look in Gaara's eyes. He walked up to him and stared him strait in the eye. "Hey, snap out of it. You know you don't have to listen to what he says. You are better than that and we all know it."

Gaara's eyes seemed to focus and he nodded. "Thanks Naruto. Let's go up. I think Kankuro was sent here for something." Gaara's sand immediately formed into a sold platform.

"Poor guy." Naruto chuckled out while jumping onto it. Gaara followed suit and the platform floated towards the tower. "What is it Kankuro?"

"You got a message from Konoha." Naruto's smile at the older boys' lack of physical training disappeared. If he got a message from Konoha it was likely them.

"I am sorry Gaara but I have to go." Naruto's eyes smiled. A single tail made of pure red chakra emerged from his back. He turned to the edge of the tower and looked back. "Good bye fair ladies," Naruto said with a wink to Temari and Shizune. "Later obaba." Tsunade whacked him across the head and he laughed. He took one step before his body increased to terminal velocity in a second. His body glided across the sands towards the hidden village.

Gaara waved his friend off. His leveled gaze looked at Kankuro. Kankuro was too tired to try a staring contest. Gaara smirked. "Must you have run the whole way here? It would do no good for you to collapse before you sent your message."

Kankuro sighed and took a bottle of water that his little brother handed him. "Konoha sent their fastest carrier bird."

Gaara's eyes narrowed but nodded at his brothers' report.

"Let me see your seal Gaara, I know that look at the end of the match." Gaara seemed to wilt from the woman's glare. He had fought with the woman all out and still had been unable to land a hand, foot, or sand grain on her. He appreciated her abilities as a Nin and as a medic, but that still left the desire for the woman to not… mother him. That's what Gaara was the phrase he thought of when she fussed over the back of his neck. He hated it when she mothered him.

Tsunade looked at the seal intently. It was a two part seal that was made to disrupt the paths of the two minds that resided in the red heads' body. Gaara was so happy after the seal was set in place, he actually hugged the woman. The sand had merely wrapped around him like a second skin at the woman's' touch. He looked at her when she smiled in satisfaction.

"Well now that I have no sparing partner let's go back." He pushed his hands away from his body and then to the side and back. A sled made of hardened sand rose from the dunes he and Naruto had been fighting on. Kankuro thankfully rolled onto the sled seemingly content to lay down for a bit. Gaara sighed at his brother and erected a canopy of sand to shade his sibling. Kankuro gave a smile of thanks and immediately began to doze before the sled burst with speed. Sand kicked up through a small channel underneath the sled. The force of the sand propelled the sled silently across the desert. Gaara inwardly grimaced at the distance Kankuro had to cover to find them. His poor brother must have been out in the sun for over an hour before he even went in the right direction to find Naruto.

-o-

Naruto's mind was racing as fast as his body. Dunes flew below him and he felt his body being pushed up when he hit a pocket of intensely hot air. He smiled eagerly at the village was creeping over the horizon. Naruto concentrated and felt his body slow. He landed on the ground in a dead run and quickly removed the Kyuubi's influence when he was within a hundred paces of the village. He ran the rest of the way and into the Kazekage Tower. At the desk he stopped and allowed himself to finally breathe. "There is a letter for me?"

The woman nodded and pulled out a letter rolled in a tight scroll. Naruto thanked the woman and headed strait home. He sat down and still held the scroll. It had been thirteen months since he heard from Hinata, or Uchiha. And eleven months since old man Hokage wrote him too. He eyed the scroll before finally breaking the wax seal and pulled it open. His brief conversation and the impending dread of what this scroll represented loomed over him. He sighed in both disappointment and relief he read it.

_Come down, took us long enough to figure it out._

_Hinata and Sasuke_

Naruto rolled the scroll and looked at his bags. He always had two ready to grab and leave. He made it a habit after he was first attacked in Konoha. He always wanted to be prepared if something happened. When he looked at the rest of the room, he smiled at the amount of junk he collected since first moving here. He arrived with nothing more than a back pack and now had closets full of clothes and cabinets full of ramen.

It was mid afternoon, and nothing was going to stop him from going back to visit Konoha. He slid the scroll into his shirt and secured it against one of the body wraps he had around his ribs. When it was sure not to fall out, he walked back to KazeKage Tower with his bag ready.

He entered the tower and spoke quickly to the attendant at the desk. She nodded and ordered a sand ninja to relay the requested audience with the Kage. Several minutes passed and he felt apprehension at meeting the man. The Kage only promised so much while he lived at the hidden village. Protection from Konoha was agreed on, but not much else was discussed. It gave the bastard Kage more leeway when ever Naruto asked for something.

Naruto huffed out a breath of air. This time he wasn't requesting he was telling the man what he was going to do. And damn the consequences.

"You may see him now." The secretary said. Naruto stood up and walked up the flights of stairs and knocked on the double doors the old mans' office. There was a call to enter and Naruto saw several Jounin standing as guards inside the double doors. Naruto smartly walked up to the Kazekage's desk and bowed.

"What do I owe this pleasure young Uzumaki?"

Naruto looked at the man in the eye and said, "I received a letter from Konoha, I need to return for few days to a few weeks."

The Kage set down the papers he was reading and folded his hands on his desk. "You are planning on returning then?"

Naruto bowed again. "I will return if you will have me. I simply need to discuss an issue that had just come up in my home village."

The Kage nodded. "I trust you will not divulge anything pertinent of the village to anyone in Konoha. You never know who is spying on you." Naruto nodded to the comment. The hackles on his neck stood on end but he kept the impulse to glare in check.

"I understand Kage-sama."

"I am unable to provide an escort at this time. We have had an increase in employment after the success of several of our genin passing the chunin exams. If you feel you would need one, I can send a message to Konoha for you."

Naruto shook his head. "I do not think that is necessary." He bowed again and smiled to the floor. With no escort he could use the Kyuubi to get to the village within a day instead of three.

"Very well, please inform Tsunade-dono of the conversation, as she has taken charge of your well being in the village." Naruto bowed again. He was relieved it was easier than he thought it would be to ask if he could return. He had known he had made the bastard Kage's life hard, both with Gaara and with the village.

The villagers were becoming slowly upset with the way the Kazekage treated his children and the old stories of what he had done to Gaara surfaced creating resentment to their Kazekage. They blamed him for the deaths Gaara committed when he was a child and unable to control the sand and later the violent tantrums the boy experienced after the first assassination attempt.

Naruto exited the tower and saw his friends waiting for him. He sighed. It was bad timing that Hinata-chan and Uchiha sent the letter now. He would miss Gaara's birthday, and if his trip lasted longer than two weeks to get to and back from Konoha, he would miss Temari-chan's birthday as well.

He nodded at them and looked over to Tsunade-oba-chan. "I got the letter today, and I am headed out to Konoha."

Tsunade raised her eyebrows. "By yourself?"

"The bastard said his nin are too busy with the success of the chuunin exam." Tsunade glared at the tower.

"I'll return with you. You need an escort otherwise someone's head will roll when the old man finds out."

Gaara looked at the older woman and asked. "Tsunade do you need to get your stuff together?"

She shook her head. "Shizune and I pack light. We can gather our things and we can be off." The children nodded and the two women departed.

Naruto turned to Gaara and looked sad. "Sorry about this Gaara. I really wanted to be here, but I need to know." Naruto looked down.

"Don't worry about it Naruto. I know you been falling apart about those two in Konoha. Go and find some friends. We'll still be here when you get back."

Naruto smiled, shook hands and half patted Gaara's back. He did the same to Kankuro who still looked tired. He stopped at Temari and smiled widely. She looked away. The suntan barely hid her blush. "I'll try and be back to give you your present in person Temari-chan."

"Just when I thought I would finally get rid of you." Temari was still not looking at him. When she finally looked up she saw him smiling at her and she looked back down at the floor still not able to handle the boys' affectionate nature.

Naruto smiled and walked up to the girl. "I'll see you soon." He winked at her then looked at Kankuro and Gaara. "I'll see you everyone soon." It was only moments before Shizune and Tsunade a returned with a back pack each.

-o-

The Kazekage looked at the gates facing east and saw the three people that have made his life incredibly hard in the past few months. He scowled at his lack of progress with either demon container. He looked at the contract he was given and felt sweat crawl down his neck. He needed more nin to complete the number of requests the village have been receiving. Among them was a special assignment that needed to be completed soon. No nin who were available were strong enough to handle it. He looked at the three specks that walked across the sand and smiled. He turned to his single body guard. "Bring me my son Gaara." The jounin bowed and left.

The Kazekage removed his hat and took off his head protector. He looked at the Suna symbol on the metal plate and nodded to himself. With this… either way he would still win.

-o-

Hinata smiled all the way to class. Sasuke had walked her from her house and they had sent the letter to Naruto several days ago. They were looking forward to a returning letter soon. Hinata saw Sasuke's pensive look but he smiled at her when he saw she was looking at him.

"Did we really want to train today?" He asked.

Hinata laughed. "Not really. You excited too?"

Sasuke nodded. Hearing from Naruto was something they had worked hard for over the course of the year. Sasuke himself was a little put out by the fact they had to discover it through several drunks, but it quickly left his mind when the Hokage asked if the two children could identify the men. They shook their heads and only found out afterwards that talking about the Kyuubi or Naruto's association to it was punishable by death. Hinata went pale at the information but Sasuke nodded. Inwardly he paled as well.

"I think its going to be a good day today. Something good is going to happen. I can feel it." Sasuke said easily. Hinata gave a "Uhn." In agreement and the two walked around Konoha. Soon they found themselves at the gate Naruto left through.

Sasuke laughed. "It's weird that our whole year started here."

Hinata shook her head. "It started for me when you found me at your house." She reddened slightly at the grin Sasuke gave her.

Sasuke looked at the entrance and saw no one was approaching the gate. "Ok, I am impatient. Do you want to go ask the Hokage if there has been any word?"

Hinata was about to protest that the Hokage was a busy person when Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the tower. She felt her words fail her completely and just stared at their joined hands. She heard Sasuke laugh at something he said and she felt her stomach warm.

-o-

Naruto grunted in pain. The walk to Konoha was painfully slow. It had taken four days, two of them in pouring rain, to get that far. Naruto covered his head with a bandana and kept it on even when the rain left them. He may be going back to visit, but that didn't mean he wanted to tell the whole village he returned.

The blue eyed boy was relieved when he saw the gates of Konoha. His feet were swollen and wet. He had never walked for so long in rain and knew he didn't want to smell his feet when he will eventually take off his shoes. The sentries saw Tsunade and bowed before escorting her and her group to the Hokage's office. Tsunade was recognized by every person who she walked by. She was forced to stop several times to talk with people who were old acquaintances. No one paid attention to the little boy that was accompanying Tsunade-sama.

Naruto watched the conversations and the smiles people gave her. The blonde remembered the stories he was told of how she was thought as a hero of the village for being the best medical nin. The weak smile Naruto carried on his face the whole time they were on the road fell apart. He looked at one lady he remembered years ago. He flinched at her smile and adoring eyes. Naruto raised the hood of the over coat he wore and kept his head down. Naruto felt his heart question to himself, Is that what a hero is supposed to be treated as? He ignored the pang in his heart and looked around at the people who were gathering around his escort. He did not spot a single person he would know that had been friendly in his short life. But he recognized the people who had sneered at him, kicked him out of stores, threw rocks at his windows, and even one of the people who was there the night of the fire. He clenched his fist. If he wanted to become Hokage, would he have to protect these people? Naruto felt his stomach grumble and realized that the Kyuubi was laughing. Naruto rubbed his stomach and felt the resolve reinforce. He needed to become Hokage for really important reasons. One was to never have another demon container again. One was to be the same as Gaara, an important person who can protect his home, and…

Naruto found the memory of Hinata and Uchiha at the gates of Konoha as he waved madly at them. He nodded to himself. He knew he had important things to do. Naruto heard a shrill laugh and felt his skin crawl. It was the lady from his grocery store. He kept his head bowed low and stood next to Shizune. The teenager patted his head and looked at the adults who clamored for Tsunade's attention with disdain.

Tsunade noticed the little boys' behavior and excused herself. She rejoined her companions and led them away from the villagers. "I am sorry Naruto. I shouldn't have taken so long with them."

Naruto nodded. The three walked into the Kages' Tower walked past the receptionist. She tried to stop them but the Jounin who guarded the entrance allowed the woman to pass. Tsunade walked into the Hokage's office. She smiled at the old man who sat on his desk. "Well Tsunade, You have incredible timing. Is Uzumaki Naruto with you?" He placed the pipe he was holding back into his mouth and puffed.

Naruto raised his head and was about to reply when two leather chairs in front of the Kages desk moved and two small children that were sitting on them turned to see him. Naruto's eyes widened. He had not expected to see them so soon. He struggled with saying hello unsure how they took the news. He didn't expect to see Hinata's smile and Uchiha's smirk. They jumped out of their chairs and Hinata sprang across the room and hugged him. The adults smiled and stepped back to allow the children their reunion.

"You made it!" Hinata squealed. Naruto took a single step back from Hinata's weight and smiled. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head with his right hand.

"It's good to see you Hinata-chan." He moved his hands around her to give her a quick hug before looking at the other boy. He kept his smirk. "Hey Uchiha, its good to see you too."

"You could have given us a better clue. We thought it would take us only a few months to figure it out." His smirk left him and he crossed his arms. In a serious tone, Sasuke apologized. "Sorry it took so long."

"Are you two alright with? You know?"

Hinata hugged the boy tighter. Sasuke grinned. "Of course. It's not like we don't all have our problems."

Naruto smiled back. "Yeah no one has an easy life."

-o-

The three children left the Tower while the adults talked. It didn't take long for the trio to go to the Ichiraku to order ramen. Naruto was happy to see the old man and his daughter missed him. Hinata and Sasuke told him what they did to find out the secret over ramen and what they were doing the whole year besides the hunt. Naruto looked at the two as they went back and forth. He looked from Sasuke, to Hinata, then the old man and his daughter. _Yes, there is a good reason to become Hokage. To protect all of my important friends._ Naruto paid the old man who had offered the bowls on the house. Naruto shook his head in refusal, saying to save those free bowls when he came back to be a genin. The man nodded his daughter waved good bye.

It wasn't long before the three children stood on top of the Hokage mountain. They looked over the village and Naruto grinned. Sasuke and Hinata looked at him and smiled too. His grin was infectious. "Naruto, what did you do in the sand village?"

Naruto thought about what he would tell the two. He looked to Uchiha and said, "I was at their academy for a month before I got kicked out…"

"WHAT?" Hinata shouted. She promptly flushed as her voice echoed across the village. The two boys snickered.

"You flunked out?" Hinata asked desperately.

"I didn't flunk out, I was kicked out. There is a difference." Naruto whined.

Sasuke smiled. "What ever you say dobe-kun." Hinata glared at Sasuke, but Naruto laughed.

"Don't say that in front of others, it's going to be hard enough to fulfill my dream. Everyone calling me dead last is going to just make it harder than it is now." Naruto looked over the village and patted the bedrock he sat on. It was part of the thirds head.

Hinata looked at him. She blushed when she asked. "What is your dream Naruto-kun?"

He looked at the two and kept his eyes wide open. "My dream is to become Hokage of the Leaf. So there will never be another demon container. No one should suffer from the hate I feel here." He looked over to the village and his eyes smiled. He didn't like the people but the village, the forest, the air here called him. It was his home.

Both Sasuke and Hinata stared at the boy in amazement. They knew how badly the villagers hated him. Even among the shinobi, there were those who hated him. Hinata blushed, thinking. _Naruto-kun, you are so cool._

"I'll keep that in mind, but I still think dobe-kun is a good name for you." Uchiha laughed at Naruto's upturned nose.

Hinata listened to the by play before she glared at Naruto. "How are you supposed to become a genin if you got kicked out of the academy?"

"Ha! Like being kicked out of an academy would stop me. I am Uzumaki Naruto. I will be Hokage." Naruto smiled at his friends. He turned back to the village below them. "I got some private tutoring. Tsunade-obachan says I am really good. I will be a great ninja is what she says. Honestly, I am just goofing off until I am old enough to take the genin exam. I just need to learn that history stuff. I had a lot of exercise with using the demon over this year. But I also had a lot of training without its help." Naruto turned somber thinking of his time in the sand village.

"What kind of training?" Hinata asked attentively.

Naruto grinned widely. He was curious of what their reactions. "I had a few assassins try to kill me and my friend. He is the son of the Kazekage." Naruto saw their dropped jaws and he started to laugh.

-o-

Naruto turned to apologize about the jerks at the library. But when he looked at both Uchiha and Hinata they both glared at the place. Hinata's cheeks reddened. "Those…. Bastards!" Both Sasuke and Naruto bit back laughter. It would have been funny if it weren't for the fact that the library staff recognized Naruto and treated his friends the same way they treated him. Naruto and Sasuke both placed a calming hand on her shoulders.

"Don't worry too much about it Hinata, we just have to find somewhere else to get the books for me to study for the written part of the genin exam."

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Like hell we will! There is no other place. So we are going to get those books whether they like it or not." His eyes were serious.

The three moved down a few blocks and into an alley. They huddled and mapped out their plan. Sasuke thought about it before he said, "They know what all three of us look like so I say that I walk ahead first and use my Sharingan to make them look away from us." Naruto asked what that was and Sasuke smiled showing him his blood limit.

"That's great!"

"Its nothing compared to Hinata, she created her own fighting style with her blood limit."

Naruto turned over to Hinata who was crimson. "That's amazing Hinata! You are going to be a great ninja." Naruto looked at the girl and looked confused when she stuttered out a thank you. He hadn't ever heard her stutter the whole time. He looked to Sasuke.

Sasuke winked at the girl who turned a deeper shade of red. "Don't worry about Hinata; she gets embarrassed when she gets praised." Naruto nodded and smiled back at the girl.

"I still think you are amazing Hinata-chan." Hinata could only mutter out a thank you before Sasuke interrupted the two with the rest of his plan. When they had agreed on what they needed to do Sasuke walked ahead first followed by Naruto then Hinata.

Naruto thought over the plan. It was a good plan and it worked how any of his pranks worked. The more planning that was done the better the success was. Sasuke looked at the woman at the counter and she swooned and let the boy pass. Naruto followed quickly without looking at the woman. Hinata walked in and activated her Byakugan and sat at a table near the front. Naruto set down his bag and quickly went through the required reading books for the 4th grade academy students. It was a lot of reading and Sasuke looked at them. "It doesn't look too bad, it's all review from what me and Hinata did this past year. We could help you." Naruto grinned and they loaded five books into the bag. Both felt the bag heavy and wondered if the bag would rip open. Naruto nodded to Uchiha and they walked to the front where Hinata was pretending to look at a comic while looking around the building. The boys walked past her and she stood to follow. Just as the boys past the exit the alarm went off. The woman clerk broke out of the genjustu Sasuke placed on her and shouted. "Get back here!" She chased after them and shouted. "Some one stop them! They stole some books."

The three children started to run away. "A few people are chasing after us. They are all wearing chuunin jackets." Hinata's voice quivered.

Naruto grinned while lowering one arm. Slow pieces of sand flaked off his hand and floated in mid air. "Keep going guys!"

There were several shouts of alarm and the three never turned back to look. Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto weaved through the open market and down through the forest only to emerge at the residential district. They passed around several apartment buildings. The three knew that the leaf ninja's were right behind them.

Naruto was laughing like a maniac. "You two are so slow. Faster!" He jumped up several walls and onto the roof of a building hiding from their pursuers. He looked over the ledge and saw Hinata and Uchiha struggle to get up the wall. He jumped down and grabbed them by their collars and jumped up the building laughing the whole way.

They all collapsed and panted. Naruto had a grin and looked over the ledge to see the three leaf nin look around before they left in another direction to look for the three. Naruto sighed and looked at his friends. "That was fun."

Sasuke panted but laughed loudly. "I didn't think we would get away from those chuunin. They should have been able to track us easily."

Naruto grinned. He waved his hand for them to get closer and he put out the palm of his hand. Sand slowly filtered out from his sleeve. "I was using sand break up our trail."

Hinata smiled. "It's a good thing too, if my father found out what we did, he would disown me."

Sasuke's never fading smile turned to her. "I got a whole district for a home. You could move in with me." Naruto handed the two the bottles of water he filled that morning.

A bright red Hinata took hers. Neither boy suspected it to be something other than from a hard run.

Sasuke peered at the books Naruto grabbed from the Konoha library. "What books did you get Naruto?"

Naruto pulled off his bag and rummaged through them. "A review book on Konoha history." Naruto handed the book to Sasuke to look over. "Mmm… A book on throwing kunai. I guess I should learn that." He laughed sheepishly and handed the second book to Hinata. "Lets see… Oh I picked up a book that says…" He paused before sounding out "meth-ods of the Shinobi, et-a-kit and rules of Konoha. And then that review book."

Sasuke nodded. "Looks like you can learn everything you need with this stuff."

"So did you guys really want to try and graduate next year?"

Sasuke nodded. "I want to get going as soon as I can, but I don't want to go alone. Do you think you can keep up dobe-kun?" Sasuke snickered out.

"Of course." Naruto huffed. Naruto looked to Hinata and sat down next to her. "What about you Hinata-chan, will you be ready to graduate next year?"

She looked at his face and realized that their faces were really close. "H-hai!" She turned red again looked back down to the book she had looked at.

"Ok then. There is no way I can fail my friends. I want to see all three of us graduate." Naruto's eyes shined and the three got down from the roof they were hiding. "Where do you guys want to go to now?"

"Let's go some place less crowded." Hinata said. She saw a few of the looks that Naruto was getting and felt a little angry at them.

Sasuke saw the looks too. He was amazed that Naruto simply ignored them. "Let's go to my place. I am the only one there." He said with a grin.

Naruto wondered about that but followed when Uchiha broke into a run. The three played a make shift game of tag using bushin, kawarimi and henge jutsus all the way to the Uchiha compound. When they arrived Sasuke slowed and his smile faltered. Naruto ran up to him and saw the shops and business buildings. Hinata walked to the other side of Sasuke and looked at the place. She had only been here once, and that was when she met Sasuke. She never noticed how foreboding it was during the day. In the evening it looked like any other place in Konoha. Just closed for the night, but now… "It's lifeless." Hinata covered her mouth and blushed. "Sorry Sasuke-kun, I-i…"

Sasuke smiled at her and grabbed both, Naruto's and Hinata's hand. "There is something you should know about me." His smile stayed on his face but his eyebrows lowered in determination. He led the three to a small monument in the center of the square several blocks down. The monument was solid stone and stood as tall as Sasuke, the tallest of the three. He still held their hands when he started. "This is the names of the people of my clan." He turned to look at my friends. "I am the last surviving member. About two years ago a member of my clan killed the rest. When he came to kill me I just ran." Sasuke looked down. "I was scared and wanted to live. The man who did it said that I was pathetic and I should live by running away…" He looked at the monument and saw his parent's names.

Hinata hugged his back. Sasuke was still looking at the monument when Naruto walked next to him and placed a hand on the other boys shoulder. "The man who massacred the clan was my brother." Hinata gasped and held onto him tightly. Naruto nodded and looked at the monument and bowed paying his respects.

The three stood there for a long time. Finally Naruto turned to Sasuke who was close to tears. "I want to avenge my clan. I need to get stronger to do it. I am sorry, Hinata, Naruto. I didn't mean to make you two do something your not ready to do like graduating early."

Hinata spoke into his back. "Don't worry about it. We are your friends. We want to help anyway we can. You shouldn't be alone."

Naruto grunted in agreement. "That's right! We will be here when you are ready to avenge your family. Neither of us can stop you. You need to do it for yourself. Just remember we will still be here."

Sasuke smiled. "Thank you both." Sasuke exhaled a long unsteady breath. It was the first time he stood and looked at the names on the monument. When it was erected he stood next to it at the dedication ceremony, bowed and never looked at it again. The names he read were people he knew. He looked at them all and kept looking back to his parents names. "It's funny…" Sasuke shook. "Two years, and I don't think I ever mourned my parent's death." He fell to the ground and began to cry.

Hinata and Naruto knelt next to their friend and held him till late that evening.

-o-

Tsunade set down her sake and looked at the old man. She grunted out a disgusted sigh. "It was really that bad for the brat here then?"

"It was only going to get worse; I never told the boy what the ANBU were hearing about retaliation. The villagers were ready to lynch him when I prosecuted the seven villagers who attacked him. I needed a way to give everyone some time to cool off. It doesn't look like it lasted. I never thought anyone would volunteer, or even pay other ninja to try and assassinate Naruto. And the boy never told me. This is all new to me now Tsunade. Thank you for telling me."

"What do we do now?"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata have told me they were planning on graduating early. They could do it easily now if they wanted to. I think they would like to graduate with Naruto."

Tsunade smiled. She was greatly relieved when she saw the two children openly care for Naruto. "Will you send him back?"

"I am not sure. You told me he has friends there. The assassination attempts have not occurred lately correct?" Tsunade nodded while pouring herself another round then handing the bottle back to the Hokage. "I think for a few months at least. I am more worried now. If an attack on Uzumaki Naruto happens within the village, assassination or villager attack, there will be demands from the council to force the child to leave. They were very happy when he left for the sand village."

"The Hokage's voice has diminished that much?" Tsunade asked faintly. She lowered her gaze. She thought of the child, Naruto as her own. Gaara was the same way. It was as if she suddenly found two sons she never had. She smiled fondly at the games and training she played with Gaara and Naruto out in the desert with Shizune constantly arguing about her debts. The summer in the desert was truly the longest time she had spent not drinking in years.

"I am only one Hokage. If Arashi had survived… Well, we would not have worried about anything is Arashi had survived. The Fourth would have simply smiled and said everything would be ok." Sarutobi sighed. "That man truly could make anyone love him."

Tsunade smiled. "Naruto is the same. If the village could get around the hatred they had for the boy they would know the clan all had that trait."

"If the boy is going to have a chance living here peacefully, then I am going to have to choose a fifth, someone who can help me with the council." The third Hokage sipped his sake quietly and Tsunade felt the necklace against her breast. It felt like lead the way it burrowed into her chest.

"I think I have a solution sensei."

-o-

Naruto waved good bye to his friends and suddenly wondered where he was going to stay for the night. He was almost tempted to go back to ask Uchiha if he could sleep there but thought better of it. His friend needed his rest. It was an emotional evening.

He placed the hood over his head when he saw several people glance, look, then glare at him. Naruto yawned and entered a hotel near the Hokage tower. "Excuse me, I am trying to find where my group was sleeping, did Tsunade-obachan or Shizune-neechan check in here?"

"Tsunade of the sannin?"

Naruto nodded through his hood. The man shook his head sadly. "I am sorry she has not. You can try snapping turtle down the road." The man leaned forward conspiratorially, "They have a bar down stairs, she likely checked in there for that reason."

Naruto nodded. He had never thought she was a drinker, but Shizune-neechan had said often she was happy her master was drinking less and then not at all during their stay at the village of the sand.

Naruto entered the hotel and saw a hotel clerk reading a magazine. "Hey onee-san! Has Tsunade-obachan checked into this hotel?"

The woman looked at the little boy with his hood up and smiled. "Yes, and you are?"

"I- er.." Naruto thought for a second. "Can you just get Shizune-neechan? Tell her that her little brother is here." Naruto smiled his widest smile.

The clerk nodded and reached for the phone and called the room Tsunade had checked into. After a few minutes Shizune walked down. "There you are, we were wondering where you went to."

Naruto lowered his hood and scratched his head. "Sorry, Hinata-chan and Uchiha showed me around his home. It was huge." Naruto was about to keep going when he heard something clatter to the floor. He looked up and realized he made a mistake in taking down his hood, the clerk was glaring at him.

"Get out you filthy beast!"

Shizune turned her eyes to the woman. "I think that is enough from-"

"GET OUT YOU MONSTER!" She lifted her broken cup and threw it at the boy. Naruto looked at the woman sadly and caught the offending ceramic and set it down on the lamp table next to him.

"I'll go. Shizune, I can find a place to rest. Tell Tsunade-obachan I'll see her tomorrow." Naruto quickly left when the woman kept screaming.

Shizune was about to run when the woman said. "It's a pity he didn't die in that fire." Shizune slapped the woman. When the woman looked at the teenager the woman was startled.

"Don't you ever say that again. You are lucky I don't kill you where you stand." Her eyes bore into the woman's heart and the woman collapsed onto the floor in fear. Shizune walked into the bar and past a large group leaving. She was surprised to see that the Hokage was talking to her master.

"Excuse me Tsunade-sama, but there was just an ugly scene out front with Naruto. He left when the clerked screamed at him to leave."

Tsunade looked at her sensei. The man nodded in agreement. Tsunade sighed and stood. She walked out the front doors. "Shizune gather out things, we are leaving this hotel." The teen nodded. "I'll meet you at the Sarutobi-sensei's estate, we will sleep there tonight."

Tsunade walked out the doors and began to look for Naruto.

-o-

Naruto walked down the barren streets and sighed to himself. He was actually amazed he didn't run across some one like that earlier. He being with Hinata-chan and Uchiha had helped a lot. He was tempted to just go and eat some ramen and think over where he was going to go when several men shouted. He turned and saw seven drunks coming out of the hotel he was leaving. He kept walking away and stopped again when someone shouted at him.

"KID!"

Naruto turned to the group cautiously. "Yes?"

"ARE YOU THAT DEMON BRAT?" Shouted another drunk. Naruto sighed. He then smiled to himself. Before, he would have been scared. Now he simply pitied the men. They were just drunk idiots.

"You do know there is a law prohibiting you from saying things like that right?" Naruto asked cheekily.

"Heh, like anyone would care if I beat monster like you." Another said he reached and pulled a knife.

Naruto looked at the group and shook his head. "Go before you get hurt idiots." Naruto began to walk away. The heckles on his neck were at full attention. He could feel the group as they walked slowly up behind him while he kept his eyes forward.

The man who had a knife raised it and was about to stab the boy when several tendrils of sand shot out from Naruto's shoulder. The cloak that rested around his shoulders faded to reveal that the cloak was made of sand. "I said leave before you get hurt. That was your only warning." The sand snapped the knife and pushed the drunk on his ass.

The sand sank back into the cloak and it returned to looking like cloth. Naruto continued to walk away. The group roared and charged the boy. Naruto looked to them and simply glared. The men stumbled as they felt such a deep killing intent. "He's a monster!"

"He is going to kill us!" Screamed another drunk before the group began to run away.

Naruto smiled. "Sorry Tsunade-obachan. I guess I was holding that in for a while now."

Tsunade jumped from the roof she was watching from. "It's ok." She ruffled the boys' hair. "You are a good kid Naruto. But subtlety isn't your strongest talent."

The boy smiled. He had no clue what subtlety meant.

-o-

Morning came too early for Naruto. It was late when Naruto went to bed, and his room faced east to the rising sun. He grumbled for a few minutes about the sunlight before he gave an exasperated sigh. He rolled out of bed and showered in the next room. He grinned when he walked out. It was the same room he stayed in over a year ago. He walked out his room and slid down the banister of the stairs to the front door.

Naruto took a left and walked into the dinning hall. Tsunade sitting blurry eyed with a cup of what smelled like coffee in front of her.

"What are you doing Obaba?" Tsunade simply twitched her eyebrow.

"I am looking over these laws. I offered to take a job here in Konoha. I am sorry to say it looks like you are only going to go back with Shizune. I need to stay here." She looked at Naruto who looked saddened as well.

"It's ok. I know you stayed in the village for me and Gaara, but you need to visit to say hi to Gaara later." Tsunade nodded while Naruto started eating his breakfast of miso ramen. Neither Tsunade nor Naruto questioned who made ramen for the boy for breakfast that morning.

Mid afternoon came quickly and Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke walked around town. Hinata told how they were skipping classes and Naruto just laughed. "I only been here one two days and I am rubbing off on you two. Soon you will get kicked out for doing some kind of bad prank."

Sasuke looked at the boy before finally asking. "What **did** you do to get kicked out?"

Naruto looked at him and his eyes lit up. "It was great, see me and Gaara found these explosive tags from a left over training field away from town. We decided it would be good to give the toilets some good freedom after we clogged them a few days before. So we set the tags onto the pipes below the bathrooms. The only problem was we didn't know how they were supposed to explode. So we did a few things to try and trigger them."

Hinata looked at him and wondered aloud. "Like what?"

Naruto just grinned.

_Gaara looked at the pipes over them. "You really think this is going to work?"_

"_It sure will, lets just try and see if we can get these tags to blow." _

_Naruto shouted a few words at it. Gaara found a wrench and poked it. Naruto grunted when it didn't do anything. Naruto attached a piece of ninja wire to it and pulled. The tag just fell to the ground. _

_Gaara looked at it and sighed. "You think it's a dud?" _

_Naruto stuck it back onto the pipe and thought. "I don't know. The pipe is hot, do you think heat doesn't let it blow? What else can we do to blow it up?" Gaara shrugged. Half an hour later Naruto and Gaara took turns throwing rocks at the tag and nothing happened. Gaara glared at the tag. He wanted to see a explosion. Sand whipped at the tag only to have nothing happen to the tag. Naruto thought for a second before he snapped his fingers. _

"_I think I got it, step back Gaara." Naruto pointed his finger at the tag and shot a string of chakra at it. It began to sizzle and Naruto gave a triumphant look to Gaara before the pipe blew._

Naruto grinned at the story. "When the pipe blew Gaara's sand protected him while I hid behind him. It was a good thing too, the pipe was hot water. We thought we chose the toilet pipes but it was the pipe with the hot water." Sasuke and Hinata tried to stifle the grunting noises while their friend was explaining his story. He didn't see their looks of horror at the boy when he began to snicker.

"Well when the water blew, the water heater went as well. Hundreds of gallons of hot water flooded the basement. Me and Gaara had to run fast not to get scolded too badly. My feet were burning for a few days after that though. Well anyway, we ran out in time to find out the principal was in the bathroom when it happened." Naruto was laughing loudly at this point in the story. "He was on literally on the can. When the hot water pipe blew, the scrap metal from the pipe ruptured the sewage pipe. It cut off the free flow. With all the water that goes through the sewage the pipes backed up forcing to go somewhere else."

Naruto was in tears when he finished. "The toilets began to spout sewage all over the floors. The poor guy was covered in crap when he came running out screaming. Plus, when the sewage hit the hot water in the basement the place began to stink rather than just the bathrooms. The whole school and neighborhood smelled like crap for weeks." Naruto wiped a tear from his eyes. He looked at his friends when they weren't laughing. "What?"

"You placed an explosive tag on a source of heat?"

"Why? Is that bad?"

Sasuke looked at him before he burst into laughter. Hinata was still red at the whole story when she said, "We were studying how to work with explosive tags, you should never place them in any place that is hot. I guess the ones you found were different if they had to work well in the desert where it's hot, but most explosive tags explode after they reach a certain temperature. That tag could have blown as soon as you placed it on that pipe."

Naruto thought about it before nodding. "Ok, so next time use something to place it on hot water pipes."

Sasuke laughed harder and Hinata tried to explain that it was a bad idea in general to do those kinds of pranks.

The three children walked around that evening. They had stayed out of the main part of the village to keep away from the stares, but now had to go through it to drop off Hinata, and Sasuke. Naruto was retelling about what happened last night and Hinata looked sad that it happened. Sasuke just kept silent thinking of what will happen when Naruto is able to stay in the village again.

They were close to the red light district when several people saw Naruto. "Uchiha, Hinata, keep walking. Some people look like they are going to follow me."

Sasuke and Hinata shook their heads. "Dobe, we are going to stick with you."

"We can take care of ourselves Naruto-kun."

Naruto didn't have much time to protest. A man suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "YOU! You are the demon! What did you do to my friend last night? He is still not able to talk right."

Naruto looked at the man. The man was angry when the boy showed no fear. "I was defending myself from a few drunks. He is lucky he got only that considering the Hokage's decree. Those men could easily have been executed for speaking about my status in public."

The man sneered. "You damn monster!" He pulled his arm back and was about to punch Naruto when the boy heard a loud rapid popping noise.

The man's arm fell to his side and Hinata glared at the man through her Byakugan. "Don't you dare touch my friend."

Several villagers who were watching sneered at the girl as well. Sasuke stepped in front of Hinata. "If you want to hurt my friends you have to go through me." Sasuke activated his blood limit. Several villagers paled when they realized who the two children where, the two heirs to the strongest clans in the village.

"I don't care who you are!" Shouted a burly man with brown hair. "If you side with the demon, then he must be controlling you." The man reached to push the black haired boy out of the way.

Sasuke ducted and pushed his palm out towards the man's chest and pulled his left arm back then punched the man in the stomach. The man fell to the ground and sucked in air.

Naruto looked at his friends. They smiled back and Naruto shouted to the group of villagers that looked like they were about to join the fight. "Listen up you bastards! These are my friends, and no one hurts them!"

Several men laughed. Naruto turned as saw several men wearing the Chuunin jackets. "Are you disturbing the peace Uzumaki?" The leading man spat the name out like a curse.

"Simply defending my self from the trash Leaf Nin." Naruto glared back. He refused to back down from anyone. He couldn't. Not here with his friends that would suffer when he left to go back to the sand village.

The nin returned the glare. "You ungrateful brat. You should be lucky that you aren't dead." The man ran forward intent on teaching the demon some manners.

Sasuke and Hinata tensed. They could defend them selves from normal people but they were not sure if they could handle ninjas. Naruto looked at the man while he heard the other ninja laugh in the background. Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. "That's right close your eyes and say your prayers monster!"

Naruto felt the sand that wrapped around his body. He normally used it to force his muscles to work harder by making the sand move in the opposite direction he wanted to move. Now he thought of another way to use his sand. He felt the chakra from the sand re-shift itself over his legs and arms. They lined up perfectly over his muscles. When he was satisfied he opened his eyes to see the Chuunin in front of him with kunai in hand.

On the man's downward arch Naruto disappeared. The man had only a chance to wonder where the boy went when Naruto kicked the man in the back. The nin dropped his kunai and fell to the ground. The other nin called the mans' name out in alarm and went to him. "Let's go guys, its getting late and I still need to speak to obachan." Naruto turned to walk away and the two began to follow.

"I don't think so, you are going to pay for hurting out friend."

Naruto looked at the ninja who said that. He rolled his eyes at the stupidity of these guys. "He started it."

The ninja gave a ground out roar before he charged. Naruto took a step forward away from his friends. He didn't want to have them get hurt over this. Naruto raised his hands ready for a fight. He dropped them just as quickly when he saw a group surround the roof tops. The man dropped to the ground and Tsunade stood in the middle of the crowd of villagers. "This group better disband before ANBU decide to ask why you are all here." The threat made the villagers all but run. Although later they would recall just what could the ANBU do to them for just watching?

The chuunin who were taking care of their friend were surrounded by ANBU. One of them looked at the blonde woman. "What is this about?"

"For one, attacking a villager of Konoha." The group of chuunin snorted. "Two, For attacking Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade began to walk towards the group. Her eyes leveled on the man who was taking the led of the group. "Three, for publicly acknowledging Naruto's condition." The third account was barely breathed out of her mouth. But the nin all heard it. The chuunin ninjas began to stir restlessly. "Take these men to the holding cells while I figure out what do to with them."

The ANBU captain nodded and started to cuff the angry mid ranked ninjas. "Wait, why are you in charge? Who are you?"

Tsunade glared at him. "Your new Hokage." The ninja paled and slumped in the ANBU's grasp.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke just gawked at the announcement.

-o-

Hinata entered her home silently. Her mind was a jumbled mess trying to sort out all that had happened that day. She had never seen people so openly assult Naruto and the boy had said the same thing. The villagers and even the leaf ninja's were getting bolder.

Hinata was so preoccupied with her thoughts she almost missed seeing her father. She bowed to him when he walked by in the halls. He stopped for a moment. "Hinata."

"Y-yes?" Hinata asked. She lost her stuttering in public but in front of her father it was hard not to feel the insecurity come back.

"I heard there was an incident today in the village. Something with the Uzumaki kid?" Hinata flushed and was about to retort when her father laughed. "It's good to see you have friends Hinata. Take care of them." Hiashi walked into his study with out looking back to his daughter. Hinata stood there frozen not sure what to say to her fathers' comment.

-o-

Naruto sighed when he flopped onto the ground. He was panting hard and smiled at his friends. They had shown him their training regiment and he was impressed. It was nothing like training with Gaara. He rotated his shoulder while lying on the ground. His chakra system was just now beginning to regulate again. "Hinata, your fighting is amazing." He concentrated and the sand that had been lying on the ground useless. It had been an embarrassing moment when he lost control of his sand. The sand just fell off him and pooled on the floor in the middle of the fight. Naruto was glad he learned to not rely on the sand like he was teaching Gaara. The sand began to float back to him and wrap around his body. The remaining sand went to rest on his shoulders forming his cloak. "Now I know what I need to figure out. Fighting with sand is going to be useless if I can't use my chakra. I don't think that would work on Gaara though. His sand is independent."

Hinata looked at him curiously. Naruto hmm'ed for a moment before he tried to explain. "Gaara's sand is kind of like a living thing. It protects him. Even if you could get by it and close his chakra points, the sand would probably still be able to attack you."

Hinata stayed silent while thinking that over. Sasuke smiled at his two friends. Silently he was awed by them both. It was true that he activated his Sharingan at an early age. Actually an untold of early age, but those two created their own techniques. He smiled widely to himself. And they were techniques he couldn't copy with his eyes. He was silently grateful that he couldn't. He would never want to have the temptation of trying to steal their techniques that they worked so hard for.

After the fight with the Chuunin five days ago, Sasuke had finally looked at Naruto with his Sharingan. Sasuke laughed when he remembered when he tripped while they were walking. Everyone he looks at through his eyes have a small shadow. He thought it was from the chakra emitted. When he looked at Naruto, the genjutsu Naruto had over his sand was nonexistent. He saw the sand that clung to his arms, neck and head. He could see the chakra infused sand that hung loosely around his shoulders like regular clothing. Sasuke couldn't even begin to understand the amount of chakra needed to perform that for a few seconds. Naruto had obviously been doing it for the whole time he was in Konoha.

"Hey guys lets go out and eat something other than Ramen tonight. It's Naruto's last day here and we should have a party."

Hinata nodded. Naruto shouted out, "Alright!" The three got up and walked back to the Uchiha district and the three made food together and turned on the single radio in the house. They laughed when Sasuke spilt the water he was going to boil noodles, when Hinata slapped the flour with out adding the water to make the dumplings only to cover her self with the white powder and when Naruto burned his hand trying to finish stir-frying the vegetables. They all sat down and sighed after their meal.

"So Tsunade-obachan is really the Hokage now."

Hinata smiled. She had asked what the new Hokage was like a few days ago and Naruto talked for the whole afternoon how the woman had saved his life and how he helped Gaara with his seal. "I think she will be a good Hokage." Hinata said finally.

Sasuke nodded and the three stood to clean up. Too quickly dawn the next day rolled around and Naruto found himself next to Shizune. The group he who was saying good bye to had grown a little bigger this time. Sandaime and Godaime stood next to each other in their Hokage robes although Tsunade had said she refused to wear the hat. Next to them were Hinata and Sasuke. Ichira and his daughter Ayame stood at the end of the group. Each had parting words.

Finally Naruto looked at his friends he grabbed and shook Sasuke's hand. He then turned and gave Hinata a hug. She gasped before she let her arms go around him. Naruto whispered into her ear. "I'll be back in little less than a year for the genin exam." A little louder to both of them. "Don't you guys slack off either."

Hinata blushed. "Take care Naruto-kun."

"Bye Naruto."

"Bye Hinata-chan, Uchiha."

Sasuke looked at his friend. "It's Sasuke… dobe-kun." Naruto laughed and playfully swung an arm at the other boy.

"Later Sasuke."

Shizune and Naruto left the gates of Konoha with an air of contentment. Naruto ran up ahead of Shizune. The teenager looked at the boy dubiously. "Let's go Shizune-neechan! We might make Temari's birthday still!"

Shizune smiled and both set out in a steady run towards the Hidden Village of the Sand.

- - -End Chapter 5 Visit- - -

A/N: Yes! Finally mid terms are done! I had not been able to write a single word until all that work was done. So neither story has progressed much while I was studying. Thank you for all the reviews! Wow, that is a lot for a single chapter. I laughed at a couple of responses to my college woes. And I still haven't gotten to respond to any reviews yet.

Mmm to answer some of the review comments I am looking at, I meant san-nin sin there were three legendary ninja, Orochimaru, Tsunade and our favorite super perv Jiraiya. I went back in what little free time I had and agree that the timing of the years don't add up so I am making a note at the first chapter that this is a complete AU. Hanabi is born a little earlier, the Uchiha massacre happened at least fifteen months in this story than in cannon too.

As for how they are acting, I am not sure how well traumatized children would act. In the cannon of the story we do meet them when they are twelve years old, but could they have changed that much, in the way they thought or acted when the events that happened in their lives rule their own personal worlds. I can see Sasuke as a avenging little bugger as a eight year old as much as he is in cannon at twelve.

As to why the Kazekage allowed Tsunade a Shizune to stay so long, look back to the story and his popularity. The fact that Tsunade is a legendary ninja regardless of her more recent reputation, is still that legendary. I would think someone of her fame would have some leeway anywhere she wanted to stay at.

See you all next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6 Demon

Chapter 6 Demon

Gaara stared at his father. The Kage had explained why the young boy stood there for over an hour. Gaara had expected that his father would try and find a way to get him killed. But he was truly surprised by the old mans' creativity. "Will you accept this responsibly?" The Kazekage finished. Gaara stared at the Hitai-ate that laid in front of him for a moment before taking it.

The only sound was the slip of the cloth as Gaara unwound it and rubbed the metal plate. "How long do I have before it awakes?" Gaara placed the head band around his neck in much the same way Naruto wore his goggles. The face plate was heavy for the cloth and it sagged forward against his neck.

"You have three weeks to get to Snow Country and discuss the course of action they wish to take. Know they have several options. Do not let any personal emotions get in the way of this mission Gaara. You are representing The Hidden Village of the Sand." Gaara flicked his finger and the sand snapped with amazing speed. The tendrils plucked the folder his father was holding.

Gaara turned and walked away from his father. "That is the only reason why I am going father. For the village. I am not grateful for this privilege you have given me. Pray that your own greed does not kill you." Gaara gave one last glare to his father before leaving the office. The two jounin shinobi stood impassively but both felt the tense killing intent that rolled off of the boy.

When he left, the two guards were about to bow to beg for forgiveness for not stopping the boy's insults. "It is fine." The Kage stopped them. He looked towards the windows and saw the sun was already setting. He mulled something in his mind before saying, "He is my son, and all sons should be allowed to criticize their parents." The Kazekage sat down gently into his desk and looked at the report and the mission. It was easily an A rank mission with the potential of going higher.

The Kazekage nodded to himself. Gaara was right in some respects. The kage can not allow himself to let his greed destroy him. This new influx of missions had left the village bare of nin.

-o-

Gaara looked at the scroll and walked to his home. The sand brick building stood among palm trees and away from the town center and on the opposite side of the Kage's own home. The door slammed behind him and he heard scrapping of chairs. His brother and sister stood from their seats in the kitchen and started heading towards the living room then to the hallway, the siblings were eager to hear what happened. He smirked inwardly. "I am back!"

Temari and Kankuro both poked their heads out of the living room and saw Gaara taking off his shoes. When their youngest brother stood up strait they both saw the glint of steel. Gaara grinned. "How do I look?"

Temari just gawked. But Kankuro eyed it before nodding. "A little young aren't you?"

"You won't believe why I am promoted." Gaara lead them into the kitchen and got a chair to reach the ice box. He jumped onto the chair and pulled out some ice cream. His sand flew to the cupboards and pulled out 3 bowls and sifted through the drawers for spoons. With out even looking the sand placed all of the utensils on the table neatly where Kankuro and Temari were already sitting. Gaara hopped off the chair with a large bucket of ice cream in his hand and placed it on the table before jumping into his chair. Even at seven years old he was still rather short. "I am to negotiate with Snow Country council leaders and militia over a demon. The snow demon sleeps in cycles, and he is going to wake up soon."

Temari choked on her ice cream and Kankuro smirked. He had not touched his ice cream yet and only now started eating. Around a spoon he asked. "When do you go? And what do you need to negotiate about?"

Gaara looked at Temari who only now was able to breath properly. She smiled back thumb up in an 'ok' gesture. "I leave tomorrow…" Gaara's eyebrow twitched when he said. "And see if they can capture, kill or seal the demon."

Kankuro dropped his spoon and Temari gasped. Gaara shook his head. "I know already." He felt his neck twitch and he placed a hand over the seal on the base of his neck. "I don't like it either, but I have to go. It's a mission." Gaara laughed weakly. "That bastard really knows how to give a jab at me." Gaara looked at his ice cream. "This is an A rank mission."

The three siblings finished their ice cream in silence. When Gaara finished he left his bowl in the sink and walked to his room to pack. The house was silent for the next hour until Gaara heard a knock against the door frame. His door was open and he heard light breathing. He didn't look up when he asked. "What is it Temari?"

"You are going by yourself aren't you?"

"Is that all Temari?" Gaara's voice sounded bored. He placed another shirt in his bag but did not pull his hands back out. He gripped the shirt to keep his hands from shaking.

"Be careful Gaara."

"I'll live." Gaara turned to her and gave her a quick hug. "It's what I do."

Temari tried and failed to smile. Gaara left the room and went down the stairs to help cook dinner. All three of them picked up the ritual that all three prepare the meals together. Gaara wanted to do it one more time before he left in the morning. Dinner was a quiet affair among green vegetables and beef. After dinner and the cleaning, Gaara walked back to his bedroom. Temari looked at her little brother go and felt a sting in her eyes. It was the first time her little brother would willing go into danger. What worried her more was the fact that she felt none of them were ready to be ninja. As the oldest she felt she could not compete as a ninja. To see the small boy go out and take missions that could kill him scared her.

She left out a soft sniff and Kankuro patted her back. Gaara closed his door and closed his eyes from the sound of his sniffing sister. He looked at his room and saw a picture of him and Naruto and another of his siblings with him. He closed his eyes to relax and placed himself into a deep sleep.

The next morning came too fast for the sand boy. He stood up and pulled the bag he packed with spare clothes onto his back. He never had to have warm clothing before, and hoped multiple layers would work well enough for cold he had heard about from his father in the mission briefing. Gaara took a few slices of bread from the cabinet before leaving quietly mindful that his brother and sister would just make leaving harder for him.

Gaara stood at the edge of town with a man who had come to the Sand Village for the mission. The grey uniformed man looked at the little boy skeptically. Gaara returned the look. "My name is Gaara, I will be your ninja for the duration of this mission." His voice was cold as he tried to ignore the tearful conversation his sister left him the night before.

"Only you?" asked the man politely. The client looked at the guards when they gasped at his question. The man himself suddenly felt conscious and adjusted his short military like cap and rubbed his beard.

Gaara raised his head and saw that the man was looking at him with respect. Gaara smiled and sand rose from the ground. It solidified into an over sized gourd and was quickly filled with sand. It sat heavily on the ground and Gaara patted it like a good friend. "Yes. Let's be on our way then. This will be a long trip." Gaara raised his left hand and a sled made of sand rose from the ground. The gourd flew to the back of the sled and fell over with a heavy thud. Gaara looked at it wondering if he was bringing enough sand with him. "What direction will we be traveling in Mr…?"

"Grev, Captain of Snow militia, second division." The man saluted Gaara who nodded his head in acceptance.

Gaara walked onto the sled and turned his head to the captain. He walked onto the sled and sat down before pointing south. "Tell me when we approach water. My skiff can't travel over it, we will need to get a ship."

The man nodded before the sled kicked into life. The sand village became a distant dot in minutes. Gaara never turned his head to wave good bye to his brother and sister who were at the gates.

-o-

It had taken a week to arrive in Snow Country by ship and another two days to gather real clothes, as the thin shirts and pants Gaara owned were truly inadequate for the climate. The captain talked to the small boy and found that the child was actually the KazeKage's son. The information stirred a parental obligation over the small boy, but the child refused any act of kindness. By the time they reached the Republic's capital, Shiika in the heart of Snow Country several days after walking off the ship, Grev was impressed by the boys professionalism and the few abilities he demonstrated.

Gaara had found the company of the adult an awkward comfort while being escorted through unfamiliar cities and ports. His encounter with the cold that went beyond the frigid nights in the desert made him appreciate the efforts the people of the land go through to live there.

The sand genin now stood outside the front doors to the republics main antechamber. He had expected to have been given his orders and likely the terms of what he was supposed to do, then leave until it was done. He had not expected the fancy dinners with his escorts family or the long talks that he was told would happen that day. Grev had explained a few things about the committee that made Gaara think sadly of them. The council was a replacement for the tragic royal family that was killed in a coup detat years ago. The Hidden Village of the Snow was only a shadow of its former self, and their number was only three families and several surviving clansmen. The rest had died protecting the royal family. The council itself was falling apart and there seemed little any one could do to repair the damage short of find a distant relative of the royal family that could take the throne.

Grev walked out into the hall and closed the door behind him. He looked at the young boy and said quietly while thinking. "Make a good show."

Gaara looked at the old man and nodded his head. The gourd of sand on the boys' back hovered over the ground and sand slowly slid out of it and along his clothes. The man walked into the court room and returned opening the doors. The sand in the gourd wrapped over his clothes and the sand slowly disappeared as the sand of the gourd flowed along his body.

Gaara heard several people whisper in the hundred seats that lined the walls. Gaara stopped in the center of the room and looked dead center. He crossed his arms and said in a monotone voice. "I will be your ninja for this mission, My name is…"

"A brat?" Gaara looked at the seven men on the high table. One of the men stood and glared at the boy. "The Sand Village dares insults us by sending a child!" There was huge murmuring of agreement.

The child looked at the man he had been walking with from Sand village. Grev flinched and mouthed out. 'That's Son'.

Gaara smiled evilly. Gaara stepped forward and the sand made a loud crack like a whip. "If it will please the court, I have been killing Jounin since I was four years old. It is obvious you have no idea who you are talking to Son-san. You may have the power of the court, but even you are disgracing it by your cluelessness." Gaara turned to the Grev. "Would you be so kind as to give my introduction? Like court etiquette demands." Gaara lowered his head in a polite bow towards the man he had traveled with.

"This is Gaara of the Sand, son of the Kazekage and the keeper of the demon Shukaku." Gaara heard the gasps and several men in uniforms paled. They had heard of the user of sand.

"If you feel that I am not sufficient for this mission… contact the Hidden Village of the Leaf, no doubt they have a spare Nin who can aid me." Gaara turned and started to walk down to the exit. The sand lining his body began to float off and reform as a gourd. "When you are ready to discuss the terms of this mission, Division Captain Grev will inform me." The doors were pulled closed by chakra and the hall fell into silence.

The chairman Son started speaking of insolence. "Will you be quiet!" The chair man immediately closed his mouth and looked at the man to his right. "You obviously do not know how close to death you were in Chairman. He could have killed us all with in a moment. Be thankful he is not the blood thirsty child I have heard off years ago."

"But he is nothing but a child…"

The uniformed man glared at the country's leader. "You did not listen to nothing Grev said. If he was sent here, then we can not ask more of the Sand Village, if you want more help follow Subaki no Gaara's suggestion and send for a Ninja from the Leaf. We still have a week before it awakes where we have time to make our decision. An unescorted Leaf ninja is likely able to cover the distance faster as we have many escorts of their nin through our country before."

The Chairman swallowed and nodded after he turned away from the intense glare of his peers.

-o-

Naruto hummed as they finally cleared Konoha's boarder. Shizune had the two of them stop after a days travel at an inn. She was not keen on camping and after the dreary march through the ran going to konoha she felt they deserved to splurge. Now that they were clear of Konoha's boarder Naruto stretched and two red fur tails emerged from his back.

"You ready for a ride Shizune-nechan?"

Shizune felt sweat move down her head. "I thought you were joking about making it across the desert in a day."

Naruto did several hand signs and sand formed beneath Shizune and latched her into a chair of sand. Naruto grinned at her and raised his hand like a bird. "You saw how I glide over hot air pockets, it's the same thing but I am going to be pulling you." He emphasized it by raising his hand like it was soaring in the air. Shizune immediately tried to back out only to find she couldn't get out of the chair.

"Naruto! Get me off this chair right now!" She started to panic when a long thin layer of sand solidified over her in a shape that suspiciously looked like a kite.

"Can't we are going now." Both of Naruto's red tails flashed towards the ground before he was off in a burst of speed. Shizune screamed when her chair and kite suddenly were dragged along a moment before being thrown into the air. "Naruto! Get me down here now!" She looked around and only saw a distant plume of sand and sighed. Naruto wouldn't likely hear her at the distance. It was then she noticed that she seemed to be flying with nothing supporting her. She looked again and felt long thick links of Chakra attaching herself to the plume of sand. She sighed helplessly and just tried to relax in the chair before there was a sudden thrust and she was blown higher. "Damn it Naruto!"

Naruto was being conservative in his best bets of how long it would take to get to The Hidden Village of the sand and he was pleased he got the two of them there so fast. Mid afternoon was just approaching and the heat was reaching its peak. Naruto slowed and forced his tails to recede and let Shizune's glider move low to the ground before he had sand catch it to slow down.

When Shizune got out she was glaring at the boy only to see him collapse after a weak smile. She scowled at him for wearing himself out and carried him into town on her back. He dozed heavily and rubbed his face into her back to block out the light. Shizune sighed already letting go of the anger she had. The sentries welcomed the two of them and Shizune said she would like an audience with the Kazekage at his earliest convenience. One of the guards bowed and left his post to deliver the message.

Shizune was slowed several times by the villagers asking about the boy who slept on her bag. She grimaced against his snoring and told the passers by that he was fine just tired. The teenager sighed wondering why did it have to be so different in this village. After groping randomly at Narutos pockets she found his keys and placed him down on his bed. She tucked him in and smiled when Naruto murmured "G'night nechan."

Shizune sat on the couch in the boys living room and fell asleep in moments. The heat had taken a lot out of her.

Morning the next day rolled around and Shizune yawned with a stiff neck. She had just barely remembered making herself dinner the previous night. Naruto did not wake up for the meal. The teenager checked on the boy before she ate, but knew it was just chakra exhaustion.

-o-

The former ANBU captain sighed before looking at his chuunin teammates. "What did you think of your first S-rank mission?" The chuunins smiled at each other.

"It was easier than I expected but was still a learning experience." The red eyed woman looked at her other teammate who simply hummed in agreement.

"That's good then, we will rest up and return to Konoha in a day. Gather your supplies and prepare to move at 6am."

The jounin sighed when he left his two subordinates. Both had just passed the Chuunin exam and were still on the high of being pleased with themselves. They both needed to grow up a little but were well on their way to being fine chuunin. After several hours the group heard a distinct trill. "Both you of stay here, I'll check on it." The team leader sped through the town and found the bird making the song. Its leg had a note attached to it. The former ANBU whistled a trill to the bird and it flew to him and allowed him to remove the note. His eyes hardened. The next mission was already assigned to him. He thought back to this mission and shook his head. The two were not ready of a mission of this magnitude. And one of them needed to return to Konoha soon to start his new job as a teacher. He walked into the hotel room they had been staying at and looked at his two chuunin. "Iruka, Kurenai, you are both to return to Konoha tomorrow, I have been assigned to an S-rank mission and leave immediately." The two just gapped at him a moment before acknowledging him. The jounin slid on his pack and adjusted his head protector covering his left eye. "Iruka, good luck with your teaching appointment."

"Thank you Kakashi, good luck on your mission." Kakashi nodded before disappearing.

-o-

Naruto stirred from his sleep by the insistent banging at his door. He groaned out loud before shouting. "I am coming!" Naruto instantly felt his sleep disappear as he saw Temari and Kankuro's exhausted look. "Temari-chan! Kankuro," Naruto looked around. "Eh? Where's Gaara." Temari's pained look forced Naruto to grab them both and pull them inside. He pushed both friends onto his couch. "Where is Gaara?" The blonde's voice was rarely serious and Kankuro held Temari's hand for support when he started.

"Our dad made him a Genin." Naruto was about to say something about congratulation him but Kankuro stopped him. "Wait Naruto, think. Why would our dad do it?"

Naruto's smile faded and he looked at the two. "He left for something. A misson to where?"

"Gaara said snow country. And we don't know how long it's going to be." Temari glared at the floor. "It is a high rank mission, and dad sent him by himself."

Naruto nodded and went to his room. He came right back out with the bag he did not unpack. "Ok, you guys stay here I'll go help him."

Temari immediately hit him on the head. "Don't say that! What if you get hurt too?" She looked at the younger boy unsure of what she was saying.

Naruto looked at her confused for a moment before saying. "What's the big deal? Me and Gaara fought joinins all the time. They are not that dangerous."

Kankuro wasn't sure what to think about that last statement but Temari ground out. "It's a demon Naruto!"

Naruto looked at her for a second before he understood what she just said. He dropped his bag in surprise. The blonde saw the older girl bite her lip while trying not to look to stressed with worry about Gaara. Naruto picked up the bag and started to head for the door. Kankuro looked at him. "What are we supposed to do?"

Naruto turned to him. "Tsunade-obachan didn't come back with me but Shizune-nechan did. Cover for me. You said you needed practice with that puppet." Kankuro moaned out loud. He knew Naruto was serious when he called his tools puppets instead of dolls.

"Naruto…" Temari looked torn between her brother and walking to her younger brother's friend. Naruto smiled at her.

"Come with me Temari-chan, I'll show you there is nothing to worry about. Gaara is strong. We can both fight back our inner demon, and we will show you we can fight other demons as well." Naruto grabbed her hand and squeezed it before turning to Kankuro. "Looks like you are on your own there Kankuro."

"Oh hell no. I refuse. Why do I have to stay here and cover for you?"

Naruto gave a sheepish grin. "Because Shizune will tear all of us apart for doing something this stupid." Kankuro groaned and nodded before they headed for the siblings home. Temari packed quickly. When she looked at Naruto she pulled out a folder. "Gaara left this behind when he went on his mission. I think he wanted you to at least see it…"

Naruto looked at it and saw the contract his best friend had to sign. Three words were circled and Naruto couldn't help grin at his friend. _Right… Hire… Mercenary._

Kankuro brought out his only humanoid puppet. "Ok guys before you go let me see if I can do this passably, or someone is going to follow you real fast." Kankuro puffed a moment before the puppet sprung to life. Kankuro moved his hands carefully before forming a tiger seal. The puppet changed into an image of Naruto complete with white bandages around his abdomen, orange vest and tan pants. Kankuro huffed again before smiling at the two. "Looks like you are only going to get a few minutes of out doors time Naruto. I think I can do this with you too sis. Just not too often or I will wear my self out." Temari glomped him. "Thanks Kankuro." The younger boy smiled before hugging her. There was a sudden thud and Naruto laughed as the puppet fell to the floor with the genjutsu failing.

Naruto shook his friend's hand. "Be careful. I am supposed to be the most out doors person of us. Just henge into me and pretend to be me. You know.. eat ramen, say nechan a lot." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kankuro who nodded.

"Be careful." Kankuro said to the two other children.

Naruto waved dragging Temari behind him. They quickly ran through the town by the back alleys. It was still early morning and the sun was barely crossing over the distant sand dunes. Naruto stretched again before letting his mind click to allow the two tails to appear. He paused a second when he didn't feel his balance change and looked at his rear to find his tails didn't come out.

"What?" Naruto panicked slightly before clasping his hands together to form chakra.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Temari looked around and was satisfied none of the perimeter guards were around.

"I can't bring out my tails." Naruto muttered quietly while molding his chakra. He paused for a moment before screaming inside his mind. He suddenly felt the foreign chakra coming out differently. He fell to the ground and gripped his stomach over his seal.

"Naruto!" Temari went to help the boy only to be pushed away. Naruto unclenched his stomach and felt something on his back like a counter weight. He turned around and saw a red vapor like tail faintly emerging from his back. Naruto looked at Temari in surprise and felt his eyes were slightly different. She gasped before pointing at his eyes. He silently thought what it meant before he heard a distant laugh and the words, _body getting stronger… _before he remembered that he was supposed to only handle so much chakra from the kyuubi. "I guess I can handle more now. I am fine Temari." Naruto suddenly picked up the slightly taller girl and held her.

Temari reddened slightly before asking, "What are you doing?"

Naruto's hair moved on its own for a moment and Naruto grinned. Temari saw slight fangs from his lips and just held on tighter to him unsure of what it meant. "To the south…" Temari was suddenly thrown against the boys' chest and sand buffeted her face. She barely saw around her and could only see Narutos chin from the sand that whirled around them.

The sand storm Temari saw made her realized that she was actually moving. She looked over Naruto's shoulder and could no longer see the Sand village. Temari gave an awed sound before closing her eyes and look into Naruto's chest to not have sand in her eyes.

-o-

Gaara was slowly beginning to like snow country, he had been there for a week and the hospitality and the fresh fish were things he loved about the town. Many of the people were thankful for outside help and only a few were dubious about the child being a ninja. That was until they heard he was a container to a demon.

The door knocked and Gaara got out of his rocking chair. His room had long wide windows and he liked looking at the snow capped mountains and the snow storms since he had nothing better to do.

Grev, who Gaara never learned his second name, handed him a folder of papers. He read them several times before he understood some of the wording. Grev had helped the young boy through the tricky wording of the contracts and explained what stipulations were and how they affected him, his village and Snow Country.

"So the orders are pending the arrival of aid from Konoha?" Gaara was thankful for the help the man had given him and wondered if it was intentional that his father, or the Snow Country government had given him someone who could help him. Gaara had always thrown that idea away knowing that it was highly unlikely, but there were times like now that Gaara had to wonder again.

Grev nodded. The boy relaxed into the soft fur lining the rocking chair. "Well, at least it gives me time. No point in trying to rush waking a demon for no reason if they will not pay me for it." Gaara looked at the mountain where it was said that the demon was sleeping at. There was no one alive that has seen the demon, but many documentations of the Snow Bear demon sleeping for one hundred and seven years and giving the precise date to the hour of when it would awake again. They Country was worried as the demon was on a path through the Capital city and had fallen asleep only miles away from the populous a century ago.

Grev felt a few drops of sweat roll down the back of his head. "At any rate, I am going to visit my wife. She had a few scares and is getting her self stressed with the baby about to be born."

Gaara watched him reach the door. "Grev?" The man stopped and Gaara looked at him calmly. "Pray your wife does not give birth with in days of the demon's awakening." Gaara closed his eyes and started to meditate preparing himself for fighting something that would likely kill him or be forced to watch someone else become a container.

Feet shuffled and the door closed in a quiet creek.

-o-

Naruto inhaled the salty air before sighing. It was getting colder now that they were going farther south. He sat at the point of the ship with his legs folded underneath him and concentrated his chakra. He had never really thought of doing this kind of exercise before and was glad it was doing as well as he thought he would. Tsunade-obachan had said that manipulating any element was hard, and there were very few who could master manipulating more than a few in their life time.

"Hey Naruto come inside its freezing out here." Naruto smiled while keeping his eyes closed.

"It's not that cold Temari-chan. You're just not used to it." He peeked at what she was wearing and snickered. "And you're definitely not clothed for it. Grab a pair of pants and an over shirt from my bag and sit out here with me. I never did get to be on a boat before and this is kinda fun."

Temari sighed and shortly there after sat next to him. She shivered slightly and looked at him. He had not moved from the position for several hours and then would return to it after a short break for meals or to sleep. She soon gave up on talking to him after the first day and on the third day she found herself giving in and sitting next to the unusually quiet blonde. She shivered slightly and Naruto undid part of his cloak and draped part of it over Temari's shoulder. She blushed and grumbled incomprehensibly about stubborn friends before she pulled closer to Naruto and felt the heat his body gave off.

Naruto exhaled thinking that he could die happy and soon chuckled when Temari dozed on his shoulder. Naruto resumed his meditation and the ships crewmen looked at the boy with respect and a little fear.

-o-

Hatake Kakashi had received several messages through birds of what was expected of him. He had never really ran across snow before but was fortunate that he could do it as easily as he could run across water, or he would be too late. The report of a 'demon wakening' is something the Ninja of Konoha took seriously. The Sandaime had given specific orders that he was to assist only. The mission was the Hidden Village of the Sands'. But that did not stop the Hokage to send four jounin teams to assist Kakashi. But they would be days away.

It was getting to mid day, and he was panting heavily from the non-stop run from the port that morning. The Leaf Jounin leapt over the last hill and slid along the frozen lake towards what he saw was the capital. The capital itself was surrounded by walls as high as the ones in Konoha except these one were made of solid stone. He saw the gates open and gulped down air as he sped faster towards the opened gate.

By the time he entered the capital he knew that the council would already be in session and he would have to speak to them before finding the Sand Ninja. Ignoring the militia that ordered him to stop he leapt to the roofs and made it to the center of town and then to the councils hall. From his message they would be in session for several more hours but he was told the demon would likely awaken in a few days. He had little time to waste. He stopped in front of a surprised guard. "Can you please inform the Council that the Konoha Ninja has arrived?" The guard looked at him and nodded. The uniformed man looked pleased about something before entering the twin doors.

The man returned and looked at him. Hatake was weary of the smug look the man was giving him. "Please come in, the Sand Ninja is inside. He was demanding new terms to the contract since you had not arrived."

Kakashi nodded. It was something he would have likely ordered, and something all Ninja were trained to do. Any Jounin who had been requested to aid another ninja mission, especially one of a different village, would have to make compensation if the aid failed to arrive. Kakashi entered the chamber and looked at all the men and few women who sat in the chairs around the chamber. Many were looking towards the center. Kakashi noticed that the main table had been looking down at something. A few were looking disdainfully while others nodded in agreement about a discussion before he entered.

The Leaf Ninja's eyes widened for a fraction of a second when he heard a boys voice. "Now that Konoha's aid has arrived, may we formally request what you expect to be carried out on this mission?" Kakashi looked at the boy who had to be barely four and a half feet tall. The red hair and dark rimmed eyes looked at him. What ever thoughts he had of the boy quickly left him. This boy was a professional ninja, there are few people other than ninja who had those eyes.

The leading councilor looked at the two ninja who now stood side by side. He smirked at the contrasts between the man and the boy. "Now that we have a real ninja-" Several of the other councilmen and militia leaders flinched. "we can proceeded with the arrangement."

The boy took one step forward and in very enunciated words said, "This is a Sand Village mission Chancellor. You hired from the Hidden Village of the Sand, it is at my suggestion that you request aid from Konoha. Remember who is leading this mission. I will not let anyone be a hindrance." He glared at the man who was slowly turning red. There were a few satisfied looks from the other council members and Kakashi was mildly amused that the Guard at the entrance looked angrily at the boy.

"Let us please continue sir, we have little time. And the Sand Ninja is right, from the reports I have received we have little time."

There was more arguing and Kakashi looked at the boy. The red head was covered in layers of clothing making him look pudgy and younger than he was. When Kakashi first saw him the ninja thought the boy was close to four. Now that he had looked closer he realized the boy was likely a very young six year old. He nodded to himself that was normal if the child was talented enough to solo his own missions. Kakashi himself remembered being assigned to random teams when he was seven as a ninja. He snapped out of his memories as the arguing ceased and the actual meeting started.

The boy looked at the leaf ninja and rolled his eyes when the man who spoke the loudest started arguing again. Kakashi's eyes turned up in a smile.

-o-

"Hey Shizune-nechan. What did you want?" Kankuro had done his best taking the place of three people. But he was getting tired from the near impossibility of getting detected. But he knew his real test would be Shizune. The teenager knew Naruto as well as Gaara did. If he could pull off the disguise over her, he knew he would be in the clear.

"Naruto, I just wanted to let you know Tsunade-sama sent out a letter to the Kazekage informing of her new status as Hokage." Kankuro did everything he learned from the academy to not react. It almost worked but a small drop of blood fell from his nose. He felt the sweat from his neck as he wiped it.

"Naruto is your nose bleeding?"

Kankuro wiped once more before saying, "Yeah, Temari and I had a fight…" Shizune's look softened.

"It's alright, if she doesn't see how special you are, it might just make things easier when you go back for the graduation test in just under a year." Kankuro was lucky that Shizune turned her back to him to pull out a tissue to clean up his nose. Or she would have seen his jaw drop. He closed it just as she turned back to him. She lovingly wiped his nose which he batted the offending tissue-hand away saying he was fine in as whiney a voice as possible.

Kankuro thought a second before saying. "I really like her though, I'll miss everyone when I leave."

Shizune smiled. "Go off now and make up with Temari-chan already. I am sure she cooled down enough to talk to you. And don't forget to study those books Hinata, and Sasuke got you."

"I will! Later Nee-Chan!" The blonde boy ran and laughed loudly all the way to the apartment where Naruto lived. Once the door was closed and the blinds shut, Kankuro dropped the Genjutsu. He panted loudly before slumping to the ground. "That was too close."

-o-

Temari had been looking at Naruto for the entire duration of the boat ride. How Naruto got them aboard with no questions asked, she was not sure. Truthfully, she was afraid to ask. He had not threatened them as far as she could tell, but the crewmen were plenty weary when ever either one of them were on deck. Temari looked at her fan not too sure why she brought it. She was not really confident she could use it all that well, and Naruto declared she would not be doing a thing. He would help out Gaara if he really needed help, but other than that they were to show her that the two of them could take care of themselves.

Naruto plopped down in his chair next to her grinning widely. "Temari-chan we will be docking in a few hours. The ship made good time with the wind at our backs." Temari was about to mention that this was a freight ship and had no sails, but thought better of it. Naruto grinned at her again before pulling her hand and dragging her out of her seat. "Lets go up top, its cold, but the frozen ice that's floating by is fun to watch." Temari nodded at his enthusiasm. She laughed while he shouted at the captain to pull them closer only to get yelled at for how stupid the idea was.

The two children got off the ship and Naruto waved good bye to the captain. Now that Temari was off the ship and under solid ground she asked the one question that had been on her mind since they got on the ship days ago. "Naruto? How did you convince them to allow us to get on the ship without paying?"

Naruto couldn't resist laughing. When he quieted he looked at an irritated Temari. "I made the ship go faster." Temari suddenly stopped and stared at him while he kept walking. He stopped and turned to her. "What? Its not that hard, Sand is harder to control, all I did was make the water in front of the ship want to part easier." Temari looked at him before she realized that all that meditating he was doing on the deck was the reason why the crewmen were looking nervous, she would constantly yell at the blonde boy to come down below deck since it was so cold.

Were they scared that a boy his age could do something as control water? Temari thought about it to herself while the two found directions to the capital and decided to rest today and head out with a caravan in the morning.

-o-

"You have the awakening down to almost the exact time?" Gaara looked at the mountain that he expected the demon to rise from. He tried to guess what part of the mountain was actually the demon. But the snow just covered the whole of the country. Any real shape was covered completely over the years. In truth he read in one of the stories that the snow covered the sleeping demon in a matter of days.

"It's a cycle for almost five hundred years. The beast should wake up in two hours." Gaara nodded and Kakashi merely looked thoughtful.

Gaara looked at the sky and smiled at the clouds. "It will snow soon."

-o-

Naruto looked frantically around the town. Thousands of people were entering it in the middle of the night and now that it was becoming early morning Naruto realized they were fleeing the capital. He held Temari's hand and gently pulled her into an alley where they ran along parallel a main street where citizens were walking with wagons to the local hotels. Temari stopped and squeezed Naruto's hand.

He was about to ask a question but stopped when she shook her head. She nodded to the roof and they both immediately jumped off the walls of the narrow alley to the roof. They both gapped at the number of people flowing into town. They cleared in a long line over several hills for miles. "I think they are fighting the demon already." Temari just stared at the number of people. "Temari, get on my back."

Temari just looked at him strangely. Naruto gave her an irritated look. "We wasted a lot of time if it's over by the time we walk over there. I got a faster way." He turned his back to her. He raised his hand over his shoulder and thumbed his back. "Now get on."

Temari blushed while she put her longer arms around the smaller boy. Naruto impatiently grabbed one of her legs and Temari squealed before he grabbed the other. Temari counted her blessing that Naruto was unable to see her face at that moment. Naruto chuckled breaking her thoughts. "Ever fly before Temari-chan?" Temari was about to say a response when Narutos' body was suddenly tainted with red aura. His body was suddenly at terminal velocity over the city and the blonde boy spread his arms out. The cloak that was billowing around Naruto's shoulder broke apart and the sand it was made of slowly took floating powder shape of wings.

Temari felt the tingle of chakra that spread between Naruto's arms and sides. "There are no hot pockets here. So we are going to have to glide and cover as much ground as we can before I launch again!" Naruto shouted over the passing wind.

Temari just nodded her head against his back. Naruto let out a light laugh and Temari knew that he was wearing a grin. It took several landings and re-launching from trees and hill tops for them to clear the largest hill and see a frozen lake over a glimmering snow covered city. The sun was getting to noon and Temari could see their shadow over the white snow and wondered how thick chakra had to be to cast a shadow. She smiled at the shadow. It looked like Naruto had formed his chakra as a large kite.

"There!" Naruto nodded his head to the base of the lake nearest to the capital. His enhanced eyes saw several people, but he immediately recognized Gaara's red hair. They glided to the ground on the lake and just started walking towards the group. Naruto had the widest grin when he saw another Ninja with his friend. There were some shouts farther behind Gaara. One sounded suspiciously like snow demon. Naruto's face soured a second before he shouted. "OIE! GAARA!"

Temari hit his head. "Don't scream they can see us just fine." Naruto snickered glad she didn't hear what the people had said. With a wicked grin, Naruto formed several seals before sand broke away from his reformed clock and he started dragging Temari while he ran.

"Damn it Naruto I can walk!" She hit the shorter boy and he just laughed while still running.

Gaara looked at the two with a mixture of relief and shock. He saw Naruto stop in front of him and let his older sister go. Gaara rubbed his temple feeling a headache not cuased by his inner demon start. "Why is my sister here Naruto?" Temari got up and glared at Naruto before quickly hugging her brother. He awkwardly hugged back and looked at his friend. "And where is Kankuro?"

"We left him!" Naruto said cheerfully. Gaara felt sweat roll off the back of his head. "We had to have someone cover for us."

Naruto looked at the Ninja next to Gaara and his smile left him. "Gaara, what's a Konoha ninja doing here?" The silver haired ninja stirred slightly but looked at the odd boy who was flying earlier with guarded attention.

"We'll since you are such good friends and these guys didn't think I can handle it, I thought someone from your village would be helpful." Gaara just shrugged.

Naruto looked back to the silver haired man. "Hey one-eye! you ok working with Gaara?"

Kakashi looked at the boy unsure how to respond. He settled for a slight "Hai."

"Do you know who he is?" Kakashi looked at the boy unsure what he was asking.

"Son of the Kazekage, guardian of the Shukaku demon." Naruto looked at Gaara who just gave another shrug. "Do you know who I am?"

Kakashi shook his head. Why would he know who this boy was?

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, that change anything?" Kakashi widened his eye at the name. Naruto's face smiled at the surprised look.

Kakashi saw the boy suddenly close himself even as he smiled. He looked at the two other children. And his mind committed the look of Gaara's face to memory. For at that moment he truly looked like a boy, and not the ninja he had seen moments before. "I know of you Uzumaki Naruto, the sole member of that great clan and I know of the demon who was sealed inside you and saved our precious village."

Naruto's eyes locked onto the Ninja unsure how to respond. Kakashi smiled. "You have nothing to fear from any Jounin Ninja. We know the truth and we honor your life Uzumaki." Kakashi tilted his head slightly in a bow.

Naruto smiled. "So what can I do to help?" He was glad he didn't have to worry about the leaf jounin.

Gaara smiled evily and turned back to the man that was sputtering most of the time during the introductions. Gaara carefully enunciated, "As per the contract, I am now hiring an independent contract in the aid of this mission." He glared at the man who was standing away from the group with several militia members. Gaara's gaze dared the man to protest. The man simply settled to look angry. Gaara looked at his sister and added quickly. "Just Naruto, not my sister." He glared at Naruto a moment. "Why is she here?"

Temari dropped her head and muttered, "I was worried for my brother."

Gaara looked at Naruto, "So how was the boat ride date?" Temari blushed deeply remembering waking up against the blonde boy.

"Good, oh, congrats on becoming genin by the way."

Gaara was about to repond be the Leaf Ninja cleared his throat. "We have four minutes Gaara." The red head nodded before looking at his sister.

"W-what?" Sand engulfed her and sent her flying over the snow field towards the roof top of the protected city half a mile behind them.

"Bye Temari-chan!" Naruto shouted after her. He chuckled when he saw the Leaf Ninja see the flying girl with amusement.

The mountain that Gaara had been watching for the past two weeks shifted slightly. On the side that faced them there was a slight avalanche of snow. "Oh good it looks like its not really big." Naruto grinned.

Gaara just stared at the mountain. It was still a far distance away, at least five miles. But for a demon of any size, that is not far. There was a sudden screech and the snow from several mountains started to fall in a cascade of avalanches. One ridge from the mountain moved and Gaara heard a gasp from Naruto. He could feel the shock form the men behind him and felt them starting to run to give the ninja room. The arm that lined the mountain moved through the cloud of snow. The ground shook with another screech turned roar. The ground shook and Naruto saw the leaf ninja lift up the head band that covered his left eye. He remembered what Sasuke said, and would have to ask the man where he got the eye later. A leg landed on the plain at the base of the mountains and a stead shaking of the earth followed the slow steps of the demon. The snow settle slightly and they could all see a demon in the shape of a white bear walking slowly towards the city and yawning.

"That thing is Huuuuuge!" Naruto said loudly.

Gaara looked at him and they both looked at the demon before looking at each other. Gaara snickered and Naruto burst out laughing. "Think your dad knew how big that thing was going to be?" Naruto laughed out while pointing at the white furred head that shifted slowly.

Gaara chuckled before shaking his head. "The report he told me said it wasn't this big. It was probably growing."

Kakashi let out a relieved sigh. "We're saved."

Both boys turned to the older ninja. "It is not one of the tailed demons." Both boys looked blankly at him. The leaf Jounin coughed. "The strongest demons who walked the earth. I am standing in front of two of their containers." He looked at the two with half closed eyes.

Naruto raised his eye brows in surprise. He didn't' know that Kyuubi was that strong. He looked at Gaara who was staring at the demon miles ahead of them.

"Kakashi, could you tell us more about the demons in general after this? I think we should know." Kakashi nodded before Gaara started running across the lake towards the demon sand already following in a trail behind him. Kakashi watched the two boys curiously but followed after the young sand ninja. Naruto followed last. The genjutsu of his sand faded away.

Gaara clenched his fist and sand rose above him. He reached out towards the demon and the sand flew far ahead of them taking the shape of a long pole. The hardened sand slamedin into the demons shoulder. The white bear growled when it miss stepped. The sand flew back towards Gaara who grimaced. "Either of you two got something bigger?"

The closer they got to the demon the more Kakashi wished there was a large group of ninja's with them. While it was not as large as Kyuubi, it was still twice as tall as the Hokage's tower. Kakashi poured chakra into his hands. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu!" Water broke away from the frozen lake and formed into a dragon that glided head first into the demon. The demon growled again before continuing to walk. The bear locked onto the specks in front of him and sudden gusts of wind pounded on them. Gaara raised his hand and sand protected them for a moment before he saw that it was cracking. He looked to Naruto unsure of what they should do.

"Up." Naruto shouted. He grabbed the old jounin and sand enveloped the three of them before they felt the force of rising acceleration. The sand dome broke when Gaara was sure they were out of range of the wind the bear was blowing on them. Kakashi rarely felt surprised felt slight awe with the boy who was leading the mission. They floated on an island of sand thousands of feet in the air. The demon walked slowly towards the city paying no mind to its surroundings.

Naruto saw the demon and felt a trickle of a memory. He suddenly saw the Kyuubi doing much the same thing over forests. Naruto felt a sense of wandering and realized that the demon below them was just walking the earth. Just like Kyuubi did before the Leaf ninja's attack it. Gaara looked at the demon and then to Naruto and Kakashi. Naruto nodded to Gaara.

"Kakashi will you please return to the city me and Naruto can take care of this. If we fail there will need to be a second defense. But the only way we may win requires us to have a lot of room."

"Very well." The sand island lowered itself to lake still a fair ways away from the demon itself. Kakashi gave the two one last gauging look before running back to the city. He looked over his shoulder occasionally watching the two as chakra suddenly engulfed them. _Is this the power of a demon container?_

Kakashi jumped onto the city wall and stopped at the top. "Is everything alright?" He looked at the young anxious blonde.

"They just said they would need room." Temari flinched.

She turned to them. "They wouldn't…"

-o-

"Tsunade-baachan said demons were forces of nature. I think I know what she means now." Naruto's nose pointed up trying to get around the large words. "I feel bad for trying to hurt it."

"I know. But the city is in its way, and the demon itself seems to not want to come after us and change its course." Gaara closed his eyes and he felt the seal on his neck flare. Yellow Chakra engulfed the red head and the bags under his eyes turned completely black.

Naruto followed him and felt himself engulfed in the red chakra of his demon. His fangs protruded from his lips and he knew his eyes changed from the sudden details he could see in the snow. Both spit apart running in a strait line away from each other. They stopped after a good distance and they placed their hands in several seals. "Henge!" There was a sudden burst of smoke from both boys and sand exploded from their bodies.

Kakashi looked from the City's walls. Kakashi raised his head band and his scared eye looked in time to see sand circling both boys. "Isn't this interesting."

Temari saw the sand rising in pillars through the smoke. "They would…" She said flatly. A pillar of sand fell from the sky above Naruto and impacted the ground before it changed into a red furred leg. The sand spread out through the smoke forming three more legs and finally a head and two tails. "I hope these guys don't care about damage." Temari put her hand to her face.

"Why is that?" Kakashi saw sand expand from the sand ninja two arms and a single tail sprouted from the ground. A giant raccoon the size of the demon bear growled.

"Any ninjitsu they use is over powered." Kakashi nodded in understanding before he felt sweat appear on his head. A red fox snarled. Kakashi shivered at the miniature Kyuubi that was roughly the same size as the demon and sand raccoon.

-o-

The white bear stopped its walk and looked at the two beings in front of it. Fox walked forward and nudged the bear back towards the mountain it used to be apart of. Raccoon soon followed and gently pushed the other side of Bear as well. Bear moaned in agitation. The demon bear looked at the sky and the other two looked as well. It was mid afternoon but they could clearly see the outline of the moon. The bear took one more step towards the moon before being stopped.

The snow demon growled at the two boy's transformed bodies. It snapped its head pushing past Gaara's racoon. Naruto's feet shook the earth as he moved to the side keeping him self between the demon and the city. Gaara moved next to him and slowly pushed the walking bear around the lake. It was another thirty minutes before both stopped pushing the enormous polar bear demon. The demon looked away from the moon and to the other two demons. Gaara and Naruto turned their heads to each other, their muzzles both opened wide and breathing hard.

The bear stopped walking when they pushed him around the city and over the next crest of hills. Bear groaned and whimpered when the moon fell below the sky line. The snow demon let itself fall to the ground raising clouds of snow into the air. When the snow settled, he laid his head down waiting for the next time it would raise in the late evening. Both boys walked away and stopped at the lake careful not to step into it.

They looked to Kakashi and Temari as they made their way from the city walls to the lake. "Kai." They said in unison. Their bodies turned into smoke and sand fell from hundreds of feet in the air. Both boys were laying flat on their backs panting. Gaara looked at Kakashi who stood over him a minute later.

"Phase one is a success." Gaara gave a thumbs up before his arm fell back to his side and he promptly passed out. Temari looked over to Naruto who was already asleep.

"Mr. Leaf Nin, can you carry them both to town? They'll be out for the rest of the day." Temari sighed while looking at the smile on their faces. She turned away swearing. "Idiots. They should know they can't hold that form for longer than twenty minutes. Geez. Five hours." The blonde girl started walking back towards the castle leaving an amused Kakashi behind her.

-o-

_Boom..._

_Boom..._

_... Boom…_

_Snarl..._

_Naruto_ _felt the ground was an impossible ways down. But he knew his feet were touching it. He could see the ocean from this height. It would take a normal person a few days to get there..._

Why is it coming so fast?

_Boom.. Boom... _

_Naruto_ _looked at his feet and was surprised to see red paws. He looked up again and saw that he just leapt over a mountain range that cornered off the land to the ocean. When he got to the foaming water he continued walking. One paw after another... Walking on the ocean. Naruto looked down at the ocean and was not surprised to see a distorted image of Kyuubi looking at him. _

Is this a memory Fox?

_Naruto_ _turned his head up to the sky and back down to the ocean ahead of him. Naruto felt a sudden relaxed air of contentment as he continued walking._

_Boom... Boom... Boom..._

-o-

Late evening brought the smell of dinner and burning wood. Naruto opened his eyes and sighed in contentment similar to the feeling from his dream. Naruto saw the door open with a surprised Temari. "Hi Temari-chan."

She smiled at him before walking to the bed next to the blonde's. "Hey Gaara get up." She gently shook him and he opened his eyes immediately.

Gaara sighed before lifting his head. Any kind of sleep made him feel well rested after so many years of not experiencing it on a daily basis. Tsunade had changed his ability to sleep a few short months ago. But with it came a side affect similar to Naruto's. The rim around his eyes seemed to get darker. Tsunade had said it was traits from the Shukaku showing through the seal now that it was bonded to his body as well as the sand. It was thanks to that same seal that he was able to wake up free of the screeching voice he had once called mother.

"I am awake. How is the bear?"

Temari smiled when he refused to call it a demon. "The leaf guy Kakashi said it was still just laying there, moon rise will be in an hour. If you guys had a plan you better do it soon before it starts chasing the moon again." She stood up from Gaara's bed and left.

"What did they say they wanted you to do?" Naruto pulled his legs to his stomach and hugged them while looking at Gaara.

"We are going to seal it into a metal container. We have to use ice as a medium for it though." Naruto nodded wordlessly. Gaara looked at his friend. "You do know its a danger to the people of this country, right Naruto?"

"I guess, there are no ninja here right? They had to get outside help."

"Yeah, and they don't have the ability to place it into a human container since they would need a group of peoples strong enough to protect the child and everyone else. You know how unpredictable my demon is. Can you imagine that kind of thing happening when there is no one around to stop the kid?" Naruto nodded again.

"But they plan on putting him into a kid some day right?" Gaara nodded. Naruto sat still. "Well, let's give him some company before he goes into a jar." Gaara smiled at Naruto and they both left to grab some food.

-o-

Gaara and Naruto stood on a hill looking at the sleeping bear. Naruto twisted his face in thought. "Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think our demons were like this? Just wondering? I have been getting a few images once in a while..." Naruto had no idea how to say what he saw.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask Kakashi about the Kyuubi. Maybe what happened to Konoha is similar to what happened here." Gaara looked and saw the bear begin to stir. "Maybe Konoha was just in the way of where it was going and where it was from."

Gaara and Naruto let their sand burst. "Henge!"

Naruto looked at the ground below him from his new perspective and shook his head quickly. He was high, but Kyuubi was much larger than this. Naruto started walking towards the snow bear and sat next to his left, while Gaara sat to his right. Gaara nudged the bear with his front paw and the bear stirred. The demon looked at the sky and whimpered that the moon was not there. Both boys moved closer and the snow bears whimpering stopped.

When the moon finally rose again, the bear didn't move to start following it. It sat with the two boys simply looking at it.

-o-

Hatake Kakashi looked around the preparation room and nodded. Snow country used to have a great ninja military. Many of the ninja died in the defense of the king years ago. Much of the way of life of the Snow Ninja was lost. Kakashi was grateful that the information that those snow nin had been gathering for centuries was still around. It detailed how to capture the demon.

Kakashi rolled up the five scrolls and closed the lid to the silver pot. He laid everything carefully in his sack and headed out the door. He passed the young girl Temari who was watching the three enormous figures contrasted against the mountains.

"Stay here, I don't want to place you in danger if the bear decides to fight back." Temari tore her eyes away from her brother and friend. She nodded mutely and looked back. She huddle closer into her coat and almost missed Naruto's cloak.

Kakashi wondered at the sudden burst of red t the young girls cheeks, but started walking towards the three animals sitting on top of the mountain range. Moon set was still five hours away. Kakashi had wondered about the boys when they argued about waiting till moon set, but with the three sitting in companionable silence he understood all three of them. "There aren't many demons left in the world..."

-o-

Gaara and Naruto never moved from their position when the moon finally reached the horizon. In the short time they had sat with the bear, they could feel its lost and helplessness. Their kind was a dieing breed. Naruto looked at the moon. _How long have they been hunted for even this guy who sleeps for a hundred years at a time knows that there are not many of us left._

Naruto smiled at word us. Gaara and Naruto may be demon containers, but in a sense they are demons as well. There is only two of them now. It is a loneliness both boys knew since they were born.

Naruto smelled the hints of smoke and understood that Kakashi was about to perform the ritual. The bear tensed but did not make a move to move. Bear sagged its' shoulders as if it knew what was going to happen. Gaara and Naruto leaned against the bear in comfort. It simply groaned as if in pain.

Kakashi had started performing the seals as soon as he had unrolled the scrolls. IT was a complex combination. He had placed two soldier pills in his mouth to draw extra chakra on during the sequence and one after another he ate them. When he reached the last three he slammed hand into the scroll in front of him. The ink from the scroll spread off the scroll and onto the snow for a short few feet. The four other scrolls flew into the air and landed each one after another on the bear.

Gaara rested his jaw on the bears shoulder when the first scroll hit the white bears forehead. Naruto saw the second and third hit the bears shoulders and both boys saw the last one fly around to the bears back. The bear tensed but the soft breathing of the two boys relaxed him. The snow-bear slump his shoulders. Each took a turn looking the bear in the eye in understanding. The white demon suddenly disappeared. Gaara and naruto turned their heads in time to see the scrolls fly towards the silver jar in front of Kakashi.

"Scroll Container! SEAL!" the scroll in front of Kakashi flew and wrapped itself around the container while the four glowing scrolls flew inside and the lid shut. Kakashi fell to the ground panting and rolled away when ice began to incase the silver jar.

Naruto and Gaara stared at the jar for a few long moments while Kakashi regained his breath. "Kai."

Naruto ran foreword with Gaara right behind him. "Is he?"

Kakashi nodded. "The capture and sealing was successful."

"So we're done. Lets go back. I am sure there are people eager to return home." Gaara started walking away. His back was ramrod strait.

"And we thought I would be the angry one..." Naruto sighed and scratched his head.

"What was that?" Kakashi looked at the container and wondered how he was going to carry it; the ice made the silver jar three times it size. Naruto wrapped sand around the jar and patted it when it was close by.

"I am the guy who would find this hard, but it's harder on him. We don't want what happened to us happening to the container of bear here." Naruto caressed his hand over the ice fondly.

"I see. We can only ask the people of the city."

Naruto smiled and started walking. "When I become Hokage, I'll come back and check on him. Me and Gaara both will. When we are Kage's we'll come back and he'll know that he isn't' alone!" Naruto shouted it at the top of his lungs.

Kakashi looked at the boy and smiled. Both eyes followed the blonde boy walking ahead of him. _Obito, can you see these two boys? I want to show you the future these boys will give us. _

- - -End Chapter 6 Demon- - -

Yes, this is took longer than it was supposed to, and yes the chapter was longer than I thought it would be. Kinda funny how I planned to write in the sand siblings confrontation about Naruto leaving in this chapter and start the next one with Naruto returning to Konoha. But I am happy with this chapter.

Thank you all so much for the reviews! I am glad I am getting such positive feed back as well. Still don't know when the next chapter will be up. I am interning at a museum, and have a lot of reading to do this semester if I plan to graduate.


	7. Chapter 7 Siblings

Chapter 7 Siblings

"Mmmm... Shodaime Hokage..." The pages turned again. "The first Hokage, and founder of the Hidden Village of the leaf. Creator and last user of the Mokuton (wood element) techniques." Several pages were shuffled again. "Village has been known for their fire techniques and mass-ster-eiz in illusion ."

"That's masteries Naruto. Think of your friend Sasuke. You said he was good at making people see things that weren't there." Naruto hmm'ed a second before nodding in agreement.

Several more pages turned and Naruto growled at the candles when it flickered. "Fire country was created in the year three twenty-one, when the Emperor broke his empire into different providences."

"Naruto don't worry about the politics. Just concentrate on the stuff you know you can understand." Naruto gave a sigh of relief and skipped the next few pages detailing why it happened.

"Mmm.. Gaara?" Naruto didn't' look up from his book.

"What is it Naruto?" Gaara had his nose in a similar book to help his friend learn about his village's history.

"When are we supposed to get confirmation that your mission is done? I really miss using lamps."

Gaara looked up from the demolished building they were sitting on. He saw the group of ninja at the base of the rubble and their quiet unobtrusive murmuring. "The hunter Nin should be done with the body soon, we have to show the old man the body, and we can just take the head with us and go home." Naruto shivered but continued reading.

"Think they will get done before night sets? or should we set up a fire to keep warm?" Naruto turned another page. The part about mentioning Tsunade-obachan was interesting since he knew her even if its only parts when she was born.

Gaara set down his book and stretched. "Let's not camp here. The dead bodies keep Shukaku from letting me concentrate for long."

Naruto nodded. The bodies were the reason he was actually studying. He didn't like being around the place he just fought at, but he had little choice and Gaara made a point that he would likely have to do something like go through the dead when he became a ninja. Three ninjas wearing the suna symbol embossed on their white masks bowed to Gaara.

"Gaara-sama, the body is officially clear, you may take it when you are ready."

Gaara bowed politely. "Thank you for your aid, missing Nins are tricky to handle when your employer still wants their body." The three Nins disappeared. Naruto saw them disappear in a gust of air and felt the sense that all three smiled at his friend.

Gaara looked at the body and sighed. The body was laid open from forehead to crotch. He raised his hand for his sand to carry it but saw sand wrap around it before he told it to. He turned to Naruto who smiled at him. "I know you hate getting blood on your sand. I'll carry him. I have to earn my keep some way right?" Gaara smiled and the two made their way to the village they were hired to.

-o-

"Gaara, any ideas what you want to do today?" Naruto and Gaara had just left the Council's office for their pay and walked back to Gaara's house. They had dropped their gear there earlier in the day after they had completed their mission and only now had gone to get paid after cleaning up. Naruto placed his History book on his head and had his two hands keeping it held there.

Gaara stayed silent while looking ahead of them. Naruto smiled before shouting out. "TE-MA-RI!" The girl turned to wave at them before Naruto ran ahead to greet the girl. She was still taller than the hyper active boy so it was not really dangerous when Naruto jumped onto her and twirled around her neck until his body was on her back, legs wrapped around her waist and had his chin on her shoulder. "Did you miss us?" Naruto said doing his best not to shout in her ear.

Temari grunted before trying to pry the boy of her back. "You are so lucky you didn't have your sand on." She looked at the mounds of sand that fell of the boy as he ran to her. "And not when you do this? no I didn't miss you."

Naruto gave a dramatic sigh. "Well I missed you. Want to go on a date?"

Temari gave a angry cry when she finally threw Naruto over her shoulders. He fell to the ground at Gaara's feet, who only now had finally walked to their spot in the street. Naruto smiled at Gaara from the floor before saying. "Do I take that as a yes?"

Temari felt thrown off when ever he instantly asked after she physically turned him down. She crossed her arms. "No Naruto I am not going to go out with you."

Gaara looked at his friend on the floor who stood quickly to dust himself off. He extended his hand and the book Naruto dropped in his sprint to his sister. "Your book." Naruto took it saying a mumbled thanks while stuffing the book in his bag. Gaara thought about what he was going to say before he addressed his friend. "Naruto you might have better luck if you just walked up to her and asked her like a human being."

Naruto craned his neck to look at Gaara. After a few blank looks where Temari hoped he might actually not tackle her, he grinned out. "Where's the fun in that?"

Temari just groaned. Gaara turned to his sister an with a shrug of 'I tried'. The red haired boy started walking ahead of them.

"So no date today huh?" Naruto asked after titling his head seductively.

"No date Naruto." Naruto nodded before walking up to her. Naruto gripped his book before he leaned forward. "Alright, no date." He then quickly pecked Temari lips with his own before walking past her. Temari turned a dark red and stood there in shock. She touched her lips and stuttered for a few seconds.

Naruto walked ahead of the shocked sand ninja in training and grinned to himself. From behind him he could feel the sudden anger from the older girl. "You better run for your life Naruto!"

Naruto laughed wickedly while carrying his ever present book on Konoha history. It was not long after his return from Snow Country that he realized that he would not see his friends in Suna for years, if ever again after he left this time. Naruto knew that if he could not have Temari as a girlfriend he would have as much fun being with her as he could, even if it risked bodily harm.

Naruto waved to Gaara as he ran past his friend. Gaara winked at him and Naruto laughed. Naruto and Gaara knew that these last few months would be the only time they would work together as ninja.

Going on a second mission in itself was an argument that still gave Naruto a head ache. It had been an argument with the Kazekage, but Naruto found it was well worth standing against the Kage over if he was allowed to work as a mercenary nin. It was luck that Shizune had to leave for Leaf Village. They had an emergency, and she was needed. Naruto had encouraged her he could handle himself and with his first bit of freedom he tagged after Gaara on his second mission.

The Kage would not admit it, but the allowance of Naruto going along with his son, had given the two a notoriety. He had sent the pair on C class missions and eventually regular B class missions. The killer intent the two boys released in one mission was felt for miles and covered two small villages. The fact it was two small boys from Sunakakure made many potential customers flock to the Sand Village to hire the two boys, or someone of equal skill.

Naruto didn't understand what that meant but he was happy when he got back from what ever job he and Gaara were sent on to play with Temari and Kankuro after their training at the Sand's Ninja Academy.

"Damn it Naruto! Come back here so I can kill you!" Naruto twisted out of Temari's grip and people who they ran by laughed heartily at the two children. Naruto grinned at her when she scowled and almost whined out, "You stole my first kiss!"

Naruto turned his head while running. "You stole my heart first Temari-chan!" Naruto saw the dead end ally and ran up the wall. Temari pulled out the new fan she had strapped to her back and used it to vault into the air before swinging it at the blonde boy.

The resulting gust of air caught up to Naruto and he was promptly thrown from the wall and slammed back into the ground. He didn't get up right away and Temari landed in a dead run only to stomping her foot to hold the blue eyed demon in place. "Heh heh, you are dead now Uzumaki."

"Just admit you will miss me when I leave and I can take you out on a date sweetie." Naruto said as he winked at her.

Temari paused in mid glare before she realized that she let what he said affect her. She raised fan to hit his face when sand flew and caught it. She gripped the fan and glared at Naruto who looked surprised. She gave a fierce growl before saying. "You better let go Gaara, or you will be next."

"Enough playing Temari, me and Naruto have another mission." Gaara tossed the letter to Naruto who read the letter slowly still not able to quite perfect with the writing style Wind Country wrote in.

Temari's anger evaporated immediately. "Again? You guys just got back." She lowered her fan as the sand moved back to her little brother. Naruto got back up and dusted himself off before the three of them walked out of the alley.

"I just got it by eagle while you two were playing. Father is trying to get as many missions in before Naruto leaves. The 'brothers' going on mission is worth thousands to the city." Naruto grinned. The missions he wanted to just accompany Gaara with were something he never expected to make money off of. He just wanted to spend time with his friend. And the fact that the Kazekage would not place his son on a team while Gaara went on increasingly dangerous missions told the children that he still wanted the red head to die. Even if he couldn't out right kill him.

"Will you miss me Temari-chan?" Temari glared at Naruto before sighing.

"Its probably better this way, I still need to break in this new fan. Kankuro is finished working on his testing mannequin last month and started building a puppet he is going to call karasu. He was really happy when it was more flexible than the training dummy."

Naruto and Gaara both snickered. Temari looked at them both and half closed her eyes. "Neh, do I really want to know what you two did?"

"Nothing that will do lasting damage, just giving Kankuro an excuse to take apart and work on his doll some more." Grinned Naruto.

Temari gave a helpless laugh and entered the sibling house. When she walked through the door she immediately duct. Three large balls of wet sand pelted the sand shield surrounding Gaara and one nailed Naruto in the head. "Oww, thanks for covering for me Gaara."

Gaara smiled before walking into the house. "Found the sand in Karasu, Kankuro?"

"It took me two hours to get all the sand out of those joints you jerks!" Kankuro screamed from the adjacent room. The children walked into the room and saw the new puppet Kankuro laid out in over a hundred pieces with three bowls of water with varying degrees of sand at the bottom of each. "I had to soak and sift through each piece to make sure no hard piece of sand would damage him." He glared at the boys who just smiled back.

Temari grinned at her snarling brother. "Come on Kankuro, you know you were dieing to have another excuse to take it apart again."

Gaara went up to his room, and Naruto went to his small corner of the sibling house. He had stayed over sleeping so often, he had his semi-permanent room in the extra room that was like a secondary living room. It took the two boys minutes to re-supply their bags before heading back out to the Kage Tower. "Later Temari-chan!" Naruto blew a kiss before running out the door. Temari felt her neck redden and she stared at Naruto's flee back.

Kankuro looked at his sister in amusement when Temari finally growled again in frustration. Before she went upstairs her brother called back, "You are going to have to do something soon. He isn't going to be here forever. Even he knows that." Temari stopped at the base of the stairs. She gripped her hands that hanged loosely at her sides.

"It's easier said than done brother, its just that..." Temari blushed before walking up the stairs. Kankuro laughed before starting his work on the needles. The poison needed extra attention.

-o-

The sun was setting and Gaara knew that they had taken longer than they should have to get ready. Naruto sighed. "Think we will go anywhere I can get Temari-chan a gift?"

"Only if we are lucky. The last two missions kept us pretty far away from towns."

"Well, at least Kankuro has been helping me with the notes for what will be on my genin test. I would never have caught up if he didn't give me the highlights to study."

Gaara grinned at him. While the two had been in Snow Country, the news of Naruto's future departure surprised Kankuro more than it did Temari or Gaara. The middle child wanted to help the blonde boy and was glad he could. Although that may have also been a reaction to his busty-hime becoming the Hokage.

Gaara looked at his friend while they walked up the steps to the Council office. Temari seemed to begin to realize that Naruto was leaving for good when he will leave for Konoha. The fact made it hard on Naruto when they boy realized it during their last few missions. Gaara remembered Naruto's look of shock when they talked about it.

Gaara held the door open and Naruto walked ahead chuckling. "Hey old guys! What is our mission!" Gaara wondered why the council loved his friend so much. When the council members all sat down each taking a turn to eat ramen with the two of them, the elders immediately took a liking to his friend. Gaara looked at the council who laughed at Naruto's antics. Gaara's gaze darkened a moment when he found out why they wanted to meet the two of them. His father had to give clearance to the council to let Naruto participate on mission as a wandering Nin. The council was worried about the repercussions if the boy had died during a mission while he was in their villages' care. Although the council didn't look it, they were more worried about what would happen if the boy went crazy and tried to kill like Gaara did before. Gaara understood their fears and so never mentioned the information to Naruto.

The elders of the Hidden Village of the Sand play an active role other than those dealing with the civilians of the village. They were given the task of approving and assigning missions, with the Kazekages' blessing. But it was little more than a formality of what the Kazekage wanted of his nin. But it allowed the council to know each ninja personal that worked to protect and keep the village prosperous.

Gaara smiled at the seven old men who sat in a semi circle. They all sat on floor mats and Naruto and Gaara took their positions on the open side of the half circle. The middle man started. "I must apologize for sending you two out so soon as you have returned, but the Daimyou has requested an audience with the two of you. He has a personal request and is thinking of refocusing on funding our village if you two take the mission. But remember it is your choice to refuse or not." The old man looked at Naruto. "This is most important to you young Uzumaki. If something happens and you die, it is likely that we may go to war with the Leaf, regardless that the Wind Country Daimyou is one of their main customers." Both boys looked at each other before nodding.

"We will leave now." Gaara said while standing up. Naruto re-strapped his bag to his back and grinned to the old men.

"Don't worry about us, me and Gaara are friends, what ever war happens, when we are Kages we will always be allies." He waved to them as he walked out. Gaara grinned. Naruto completely ignored the fact that the war would likely only happen if he died.

Gaara bowed to the old man remembering to show them the respect Nartuo seemed to always forget. When he walked out the door, a Jounin nodded to the red headed boy. "Here is a map, it shades the points where you can avoid hassle. Do not take any unnecessary risks young master." Gaara smiled at the Jounin. While Naruto endeared himself to the old council, he had somehow won the respect of many of the Jounin and Chuunin while performing his missions.

"Thank you sir." Gaara looked at the map has he left the building already seeing Naruto impatiently whining.

"Let's go already, its cold at night and I bet its a long way." Gaara nodded and threw his gourd of sand into the air. It landed with a thud before it was lifted up by sand turned stone. The rest of the floor formed into a small skiff and Gaara and Naruto hopped one. Naruto did several seals before placing his hands to the base of the boat and the rear exploded with chakra. It was not long before the speeding ship was out of sight from the village.

-o-

Naruto sighed when he finally took off his face mask. The sandstorm they were traveling through finally passed. Gaara yawned next to Naruto who looked at the morning dawn with sleepy eyes. The two of them had traveled over night to cut time and were glad their detour did not take them too far out of their way. They passed the canyon that ran across the middle of Wind Country and came to the mountain range that lined the western countryside. "Naruto we will get there in an hour. Can you take control? I think I am going to fall asleep soon." Naruto grunted lazily before their sled came to a complete halt. Naruto stretch and preformed several hand seals. It took him a long time to learn how to associate the proper hand seals to mold the chakra imbued sand. He was just glad it didn't require so much stamina now.

The hour passed quickly before they found they had to stop using the sled. The ground was solid, and they both ran across the cracked dry earth while seeing the outline of the city gates. At the gates both were stopped. Naruto looked at the two men who were standing guard before looking at the tall walls that surrounded the city. One man smiled. "The walls are there to block out most of the wind so the capital can have their own farming land." Naruto nodded while still craning back to see how high they went. He never noticed them when they came to the entrance as he was so intent on the gates.

Naruto wordlessly followed Gaara when they entered the palace. IT was still early morning and the two were found playing on the steps. "Excuse me may I help you two children?" Naruto got off the polished marble banister and grinned.

"Naw, we are good thanks." Naruto turned to Gaara who shouted he was ready.

"Go for it!" The man who found Naruto looked up to the banister railing and felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. A red haired boy slid down the railings from the above level.

"Excuse me, but where are your parents? This is the Daimyou's palace. Not a day care center."

Naruto smiled when Gaara walked up to meet the strange man. Naruto looked at the bearded old man. "Mine are dead."

"My mom died giving birth to me and my dad sent me here in hopes of killing me."

The retainer looked at the two children with annoyance. "Keep telling me these lies and I will have the guards remove you. Now where are your parents?"

Gaara let his smile drop. He lowered the lip of his muffler that wrapped around his neck to show his Suna head band. "I am a Sand Nin. We are here on a mission. We happen to be early and are just waiting until it is late enough to meet with the Daimyou."

The man paled and he recognized the tattoo on the boy for the first time. He looked over to the blonde and saw the whisker like tattoo's on the boys' cheeks. "My apologies, I had to inquire as part of my job. The Daimyou Velrom will be ready to receive an audience in the next twenty minutes, if you would be so kind as to wait in the guest chambers." He moved his hands in a gesture to follow him.

Both boys followed obediently. The two looked around and Naruto squealed when he saw the fire place was larger than the door they walked through. "It's bigger than my room!" Gaara shook his head. HE turned tot the man who was on his way out.

"Thank you for the courtesy. When the Daimyou is ready, we will be waiting." The man nodded before the doors closed behind him.

Almost an hour passed while the two had settled themselves to sit and play a card game where they each took turns bluffing what card they set down on the stack. The doors opened and both boys looked up patiently.

"I apologize for the wait. Please follow me." The boys followed the new guy around to the main hall and down the column lined path. At the entrance to the throne room they both looked at their escort when the Daimyou was not there. The man kept walking towards the seats and to the back door. Naruto hmm'ed to himself when he studied the room. Gaara tugged the other boys shirt and both followed the man into the next room.

The man was already knelt. Both walked up to stand next to him and followed his lead. Both recognized the Daimyou out side of his traditional robes. "Thank you for arriving so soon. The information you are about to hear is for only you two. The mission I am asking from you two consists of two parts. One is to retrieve a scroll one of my spies has acquired as proof of a future assassination attempt on my life. He is currently in hiding in the caves south of Portan, the southern most port city in Wind Country. We have lost contact with him after he told me of his message. The other is during that time of the mission is to have one of you be my personal body guard for the duration of the retrieval."

Both boys looked at him before nodding. Both raised their hands quickly. "Jon Ken Pon!" Gaara smiled while looking at Naruto's rejected face. Naruto looked at his hand in shock and betrayal. "I never lost before!"

Gaara laughed. "We will take the mission, I will go in search of your missing spy and the scroll."

Naruto grinned through his teeth and said. "I'll watch over you Daimyou -san." Gaara quickly glared at his friend.

"Thank you." Velrom bowed his head and raised it again before the children's escort could protest. "The man who is a spy is a good friend of mine, if you find him, dead or alive, please return him here. If you find him either way despite retrieving the scroll, I will consider this mission a success." Gaara nodded in understanding. "I will return in three days." With another bow and a wave to his friend he disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Naruto sighed before looking at the ruler of the nation. "So do I just follow you around?"

The escort made an indignant noise but the Daimyou just laughed.

-o-

Naruto thumbed through his book studiously ignoring the old wind bags ramblings to the Daimyou. This was the second guy he had met on a council that just seemed to like to hear himself talk and Naruto wondered if Konoha's council has an old windbag like this one.

"Daimyou -sama, I believe it is in the best interest of the council that you let this law pass. The council has agreed to it every time you have rejected it."

The Daimyou waved his hand airily. "The majority of the council has agreed, and a few of those agreed on shaky ground. The law would lower the income of the country while allowing more money to be spent on imports than what we export. It's not economically sound. Bring a new draft where we do not need to raise the tariffs on the imports and we can talk about this bill again. What is the next item on the agenda?"

The man huffily sat down amidst the blonde boys quiet chuckles. The 'wind bag' glared at the boy who disarmingly smiled back.

"I have just one more Daimyou -sama." A man in the rear of the two rows stood. He pulled out a parchment and read. "The southern ports have had a problem in the caves with a sudden band of thieves who have seemed to hold their hide out there. They don't seem to be bothering the locals, but they are searching the caves. Our best guess is that they are searching the ruins for artifacts to sell on the black market."

Naruto snuck a glance at the old man nodded sagely after schooling his features. The Daimyou looked beyond the group to Naruto who had sat behind the group for the duration of the meeting. Naruto just shook his head. The Daimyou understood the silent message. "We will acquire a team of ninja from Suna to investigate the problem."

A few men stirred at this. "Sir, wouldn't it be better to have a ninja from the Leaf to explore the situation since they are closer to the border than the desert village is?"

Naruto looked up from his book vaguely interested. "No, I have several ninja from Suna and they have made a good impression n me, I will entertain their services for the time being."

"But sir, that critical mission they failed."

The Daimyou glared at the man before saying, "Enough! The discussion is over. That mission was doomed to fail with the parameters we have given them, and they had lost good shinobi. I do not want to hear you undermine their sacrifice to our country again." The retainers quieted. Velrom sighed before asking for any other problems. The group gave a resounding no. "Be at peace gentlemen. And good day." The men shuffled out of the room amongst discussion of their future plans.

Naruto walked up to the Daimyou. "Was the mission the sand guys went on that bad?"

The Diyamo nodded. "Some information was leaked about a plan we had to restart our trade with Water Country. The Ninja we sent was a Genin team. But the spy who had stolen the information was a missing Nin of A class. The group was annihilated and the information was sent to Earth Country and they quickly added tariffs to out-trade us, effectively stopping our plans for expanded trading before we started."

Naruto nodded while only understanding parts about the ninja. He looked up at the older man while setting his book in his bag. "Don't worry about Gaara sir. He can take care of himself and the guy." The Daimyou gave an uneasy smile. The second day to Gaara's mission came to a close.

-o-

Gaara stood in front of the caves he was supposed to search with an aggravated sigh. He was not surprised when he found others combing the caves. He was actually relieved. If these were the men who were searching for the hiding spy, it gave him hope the man was still alive, and with the scroll.

Gaara slipped through cavern after cavern ignoring the men who ran around him. He sound confirmed they were indeed looking for the man. One of the younger adults of the group barked out orders left and right. Gaara saw a headband of what looked like the Stone Village. Gaara scratched his head as to why a ninja would enlist help from thugs and not search for the man himself. He shrugged it off and quickly made his way deeper into the caverns and finally made it pass the searching party's leaders. He shook his head at their idiocy. A few actually his shadow but quickly dismissed it. _They should know that no shadow should move_. Gaara found himself in a cave with out the light of the searching party's. He closed his eyes and let his body circulate chakra and opened them slightly amused that he could see small reflections of light. It was not much but enough to keep moving ahead with out light to be found by.

Gaara let the sand fly out of his gourd and it formed a small floating platform. He concentrated a moment to instill some extra chakra into the floating craft before he stood on it and started flying in the center of the cave at terminal velocity. It was a few minutes of meandering through several different paths that Gaara sighed to himself. The line of caves he found was a dead end and he slowly approached the faded light ahead of him towards the party searching line. After some patient waiting with his sand camouflaging him, he moved to another cave at the first fork he encountered. He followed it quickly before moving around the bandit's torch light. After another hour of searching he heard distant shouting. He stopped and turned around soundlessly running after the noise.

Gaara felt the sand flex at his anticipation. When Gaara slowed at his arrival he saw a man bound with the bandits waiting the Ninja from the entrance. After a few moments Gaara realized there were far more bandits than he thought. He finally accepted that to search these caverns quickly the ninja had to have found outside help. When the Ninja arrived he was surprised to see three younger Nin with him. _A genin team?_ The Jounin instructor knelt in front of the man and performed several seals. The captured man sucked in his breath.

"Do you have the scroll?"

The man tonelessly said. "No."

The Genin behind their teacher tensed. "Where is the scroll?"

The man seemed to struggle before. "I have hidden it to be retrieved in approximately two days."

The Jounin sighed in relief. He cancelled his jutsu. "This was a wild goose chase; the mission will be complete by tomorrow." Gaara's eyes widened. The Jounin instructor pulled out a kunai and threw it at the man's chest. The man was just now able to see past the fog the jutusu did to his mind. He gasped at the flying kunai before sand encompassed him.

Sand flew around the cavern pressing the bandits to the walls before the sand gave way to burst of blood. The Jounin barked at his Genin to stand back. Gaara stood on the ceiling smiling at the naivety some people have of what should be above them. Gaara knew Naruto had always tried to surprise him from every angle. Above, below, from the human body's natural blind spot… Gaara looked at the Genin who shuffled uneasily at the carnage surrounding them. The sand circled the four keeping them in one tight area. "I am sorry to say, that you have given me not much time to work with. But rest assured my friend will protect Diamyou-kun." The Jounin swore before throwing a kunai at the ceiling. Gaara's sand caught it easily.

"As for you four, well, I am sorry Genin such as them should die here." The Jounin performed several seals.

The earth around them erupted in an explosion creating a miniature hall towards the entrance of the cave. "Get out of here now! I'll try and slow this one down!" The Genin started to protest but one look at their instructor forced them to run.

Gaara looked at the exit wondering if he should let them go. His sand could easily block their path. But he finally decided against it. Ninja or not, they were still young and Naruto doesn't like killing young people. Although now that Gaara thought about it, the two of them were far younger than any normal Genin.

Gaara let himself fall to the ground and he landed in a knee bend. He looked up at the Jounin and was surprised to see the man look at the boy in horror. "Gaara... brother of the sand."

Gaara looked at the man surprised that the Jounin knew his name but didn't understand the title. "I am famous?" The red head asked blandly. "Sorry but I don't much care. You will die now." Gaara raised his hand and sand flew towards the Jounin. The man disappeared and reappeared in front of the boy. Gaara saw the punch land against his dome but saw that the knuckles almost went through. The sand parted slightly allowing the boy to see the Jounin behind it. "Fast, aren't you?" Sand surrounded the Jounin and quickly latched onto the man's legs. The Jounin's legs exploded and the man fell to the ground in a cry of pain. Gaara waved his hand and sand encircled the spy who cried in fear. "I won't hurt you, but we don't have much time." Gaara formed a floating platform and set the man on it before hopping on it as well. Gaara looked at the man quickly before turning away. "Those bandits saved you. I hate having too much blood in my sand."

-o-

Naruto rose early and looked over from his couch to the large bed his client and wife slept. The blonde was uneasy about sleeping in front of a half clad woman, but he resigned the fact that he was supposed to protect the Daimyou, and that meant that the man was not leaving his sight. He sat silently while waiting for the old man to wake up. It had been an odd two days. Besides the fact that he had found himself working on a mission alone, Naruto found he liked talking to the old man. The Daimyou knew a lot about Fire Country's history, and Naruto realized that the old man was actually there for some parts of it. It was another hour before the Daimyou stirred and he followed after the man like a shadow.

Naruto felt his eye brow twitch like Gaara, when he heard some older men saying the boy followed the Daimyou like a lost puppy. But he knew there was little he could do. Naruto looked up and he felt a murderous intent from beyond the city and moving fast. "Sir." The Daimyou stopped speaking and talking to his wife. "I need you to do me a favor and have you and your wife follow me." Naruto did some quick thinking. He knew he felt someone come through the inner city walls. The hackles on his neck stood at attention. Inside a small chambers Naruto looked at the Daimyou and his wife. "Sir, someone is coming towards the palace and giving off a strong killing intent. Just for your safety, I need to provide a decoy. I am sorry sir, but I need your help to pull it off. And your wife needs to hide for a moment…."

-o-

Naruto walked out the door from the close chambers ahead of the Daimyou and his wife. Nartuo felt the killing intent draw closer and refused to let himself be intimidated. The small boy walked ahead with a smile on his face with the Daimyou and his wife following close behind. The three had left the main hall and walked down a buys path towards the imperial wing. The wall on their right was lined with glass allowing the sun to filter through the images on them to cast themselves on the floor.

The blonde boy raised his hand. Sand erupted from him and the Daimyou and his wife flew against the far wall. Naruto threw a dagger through the window and towards the roof of the lone spire in plain view. The knife exploded half way there and a tall man with a larger sword strapped to his back watched the boy in interest. "Why are you here?" Naruto felt his blood pumping while watching the gray-pale man carefully.

The man in question looked over to the sand against the wall and grinned. He performed several hand signs faster than Naruto could see them. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu" Water erupted from behind the ninja and flew in a tornado at Naruto.

The blonde was lifted from the torrents of water and slammed against the wall. The cracks fanned from his body and Naruto's eyes were wide. "Can't keep up." The man smiled until the Naruto on the wall broke into sand. He turned back to the sphere of sand and saw it slowly spread apart to allow a head of a panting Daimyou look at him. The Daimyou's face turned into sand and the assassin had to laugh. The sand showed a small boy's serious face.

"I am impressed, I never expected some kid to be able to pull something that complicated off." The man looked at the kid again before pulling out his wrapped sword. "But it looks like that wore you out didn't it?"

"So you are here to kill Daimyou-san?" The man smiled. Naruto smiled back just as savagely. "Too bad you didn't know that demons don't tire like we do." The man looked at the boy and gripped his sword when red chakra leaked out from the boy. Naruto walked out of the sphere. The assassin saw the Daimyou's wife suddenly fade into the Daimyou himself.

The assassin's face turned neutral in understanding. The Daimyou was the wife, the bodyguard was the Daimyou, and the fake bodyguard was a clone. With the new knowledge, the gray faced man charged with his raised sword. Naruto caught it in his hand and glared at the man sent to kill the Daimyou. The man smiled and pulled it towards him allowing the wrapping to fall off. Naruto's hand began to bleed from a kind of cut he was not expecting. Naruto's red eyes looked at the sword unsure what to make of it.

"This sword shaves." The man flicked off the blood from the many small talon like blades on his sword. "I'll kill you by taking piece by piece." The man charged again.

Naruto caught the blade again and gripped it to keep it from moving. The man was too strong and the man laughed when he pulled it again making sure to maim the boys' hands. Naruto's hand turned to sand as it was being cut and seeped through the cracks in the blade and Naruto moved back glad his hand was saved.

Cold grey eyes looked at the boy. "That sand of yours is an odd jutusu." The assassin rotated his sword and let it hit the ground blade first. With one hand he performed several seals before the sand fell off, drained of chakra.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled out. His eyes and hair were charged with chakra and bestial power that resonated with his voice. Naruto knew instinctively he could not touch the sword again.

"Hoshigake Kisame. I wanted to make a bigger name for myself since I haven't done much in a while."

Naruto's eyes light up. "You will kill just to be famous?" Kisame smiled before charging with his sword in hand. Naruto charged towards the man unsure what to do knowing he could not touch the sword. He instinctively raised his hand to block but knew he could not touch it. Sand reached from Naruto's arm in a second forearm and caught the blade and gripped the shaving blades pulling the sword towards Naruto while he closed in on Kisame. The man raised his hand and punched Naruto in the face sending him against the wall his clone had occupied moments before. Naruto fell to the ground and Kisame whistled. Naruto stood up again and sand fell from the impact Kisame made on the boys face. Naruto was very glad Gaara kept on him about learning to use the armor of sand.

"You are an interesting thing. What is your name?"

Naruto pulled his hands together and panted. He felt the demon inside him roaring in frustration. "Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hokage of the Leaf." An explosion of chakra erupted from Naruto and he charge vaguely aware of his skin burning. Kisame dodged the attack and recognized that the situation was fast becoming an inconvenience. He had heard the name but could not place it.

"Uzumaki? I think I have heard of that somewhere." Naruto ignored the taunting tone and charged again. Sand flew in the shape of an elongated arm and caught the shark man's foot and was unwillingly pulled towards the small boy. The blonde raised his fist and red chakra burst from it right before his fist connected to Kisame's chest.

Kisame fell across the hall and landed on his back. He stood up and spit out some blood before looking appraisingly at the small boy. "With that much power you might have been able to. But now you are dead." Kisame charged the boy swordless. The boy just smiled before glass shattered from the large windows. Kisame was hit into the wall but stood up as the last of the glass hit the ground.

"What took you so long Gaara?"

Gaara smiled through the snout his sand formed around his body. His muzzle's jagged teeth bared while setting a man down. "I would have come faster if I had not had to look for a damn scroll. The Daimyou?"

Naruto smiled wide red eyes. "Safe." Naruto let the sand slowly gather itself at his feet before it wrapped around him cooling off the burning skin. He leaned forward and sand reshaped itself to match muscles of a four pawed animal. Long ears rose from the animal's face and Kisame finally remembered where he heard the Uzumaki name before. He swore to himself knowing he could not kill the boy. He looked at the other thing and realized it was another boy in sand. He leaked yellow chakra and his dead yellow eyes glared at him. "Containers of the tailed demons…" Gaara and Naruto both turned to the assassin. He began laughing hard. "I guess I really should not have been dawdling, not as if anyone else hasn't." Kisame raised his hand and his sword flew to it. He swung it to his back.

"This is an interesting finding. I will see you soon, Uzumaki." With that Kisame turned into water and splashed to the ground.

Gaara and Naruto felt their bodies weaken and the sand fell off them both. The sand around the Daimyou receded towards Naruto and it sat uselessly at his feet. It was a few moments later that Guards arrived to secure the grounds. Gaara finally stood up and waved weakly to the Daimyou. "Mission complete." He tossed the scroll to the man before collapsing again strait into unconsciousness.

-o-

Naruto and Gaara stood at the steps of the palace and sighed. They would both miss the castle. "Think the guys in Suna will give us both a break?"

Gaara thought on it while they left the city. "I doubt it."

Naruto grinned. "Lets get to town, I saw something I want to get Temari-chan."

In town Gaara watched while Naruto dug his pockets for money and yelled at the owner to bring down the price of the gift. The two boys smiled. Naruto made a good deal. After talking about how Temari would act to the gift Gaara looked at Naruto.

"You do know you are talking about my sister, right?"

Naruto stopped and looked at his friend. "Yeah I know, did you have a problem with me going out with Temari-chan?"

Gaara just shook his head. "Just making sure you know."

Naruto laughed before tucking the gift securely in his bag. He took in a big breath of the warm salty air and stretched. Naruto felt he was getting tired of the hard missions. "We'll I'll demand we both need to take a break, and get you a real team when we meet the old men." Gaara nodded silently thinking back to the failed assassination attempt. Both boys were unsure what would have happened had the assassin chose to stay and continue his attack. They both made it clear to the Daimyou that they were just lucky. The man was not serious about killing them or they would have been dead. Their thoughts were confirmed when several shinobi from the Hidden Village of the sand arrived to replace them and continue as a bodyguard squad. They had given the two boys a bingo book and they both recognized the man as a missing S-class ninja. Neither one understood why they had legitimate stone ninja's helping him and after several letters from the hidden village of Stone, they were told no one was assigned a mission to that area, and all Genin teams were accounted for. Both boys did not know what to say to that other than wonder if the Stone Village would be a trust worthy ally in the future years.

It took the two four days at a leisurely pace to get to the hidden village of the Sand. Neither one was eager to return to likely another mission waiting for them. Naruto had said repeatedly that he would get them out of any more missions, but Gaara just looked at his friend with skepticism. Naruto walked ahead of Gaara laughing the whole way into the village. Both had agreed to drop of their things and eat first before speaking to the elders. Both were happy it was the weekend and were pleased when Kankuro and Temari were present at their house.

"Oie! Temari-chan, Kankuro let's get some food." Naruto said at the top of his lungs.

The two poked their heads around the door and smiled at the siblings just now starting to get something to cook. "Or you guys can cook me something sounds good to." Temari was at the sink washing a pot and flicked water at the blonde boy. "You wish Uzumaki. Lets get some real food then. No ramen." Naruto pouted but was too hungry to put up much of a fight. The four children sat outside in the mid afternoon shade and talked animatedly about their mission and what they did in the week they were apart. Kankuro had found a good way to work with his puppet Karasu, Temari finally mastered her first fan technique to use it in active fighting, and the two boys started their converstation about their mission.

"Daimyou-san taught me all sorts of things that I didn't know in my book! Nistam the Daimyou in Fire Country was originally from here, but was married off to the other guys family as a peace treaty." Gaara listened mildly interested in what Naruto learned. While Gaara knew he would never have the curiosity needed to study any literature or history, hearing about it like a story held an appeal.

Gaara finally interrupted when Nartuo started talking about the shark faced guy. "Hey wait I got a page from the bingo book." Gaara pulled out a leaf of paper from his muffler and placed it on the table for the four of them to look at.

"Yeah that's the guy. He looks taller in the picture." Gaara rolled his eyes. "What? He does. Mist Ninja?"

"Would explain why he used those water techniques the jounin detail didn't know after we told them about it."

Naruto nodded. "We were lucky he only used taijutsu." He shivered at the memory of his sand clone. It had no chance, and Naruto didn't' think he would have much chance against that technique.

Gaara took back the paper much to Kankuro's protest. "We should get going before the elders' close the doors for their session." Naruto stood up and quickly pecked Temari on the cheek before the girl could even move. He was on the other side of the street when she looked up.

Kankuro looked at Temari's changing expressions. "He isn't asking much Temari. And I know you like the idiot, you turn red when ever we have this talk."

Temari felt her hand touching her cheek not the least bit mad at Naruto for kissing her. She finally sighed before slumping her head into her folded arms at the table. Kankuro just patted her back.

-o-

Naruto stood while Gaara bowed to the elders. The blonde felt a blot of sand hit his head forcing him to bow. There were a few old laughs at the two while Naruto glared at Gaara. "Your mission was successful but not with out serious troubles. Had we known the seriousness of this mission you would have received another team to accompany you. This was our own failing; you have our most sincere apologies. We are glad you have both returned safe." Gaara nodded while Naruto just looked at the men and women not sure what to say. When no one said anything Naruto scratched his head.

"Hey if you guys are really sorry, could you find a team for Gaara to be in?" Everyone turned to the young foreigner. "Eh, after we have a vacation?" He added weakly.

The council looked at each other. "You have both done more than we could ask for. Naruto, we release you from your contract, and Gaara, you may will be on leave while we form a team to match your skills."

-o-

Naruto grinned at the woman he had not seen in months. "Shizune-neechan what took you so long to come back?"

Shizune smiled before returning the hug the boy gave her. "There was a man who was really injured and I had to go help. Tsunade-sama still has not conquered her fear of blood, but not many people know she has that fear.I had to help start training a few medical ninjas. We have been seriously lacking that position in Konoha." Naruto smiled and started walking with his favorite 'sister'. "Naruto what was this about you doing dangerous things?"

Naruto stopped and looked at the teenager. "Like what?"

Shizune narrowed her eyes. Naruto dropped his hands to his sides knowing he was in trouble. "Like going with Gaara on dangerous missions."

Naruto smiled. "They weren't that bad, we had to fight bad guys."

Shizune watched the boy begin to walk ahead before she stopped him. "And fighting S-class missing nins comes into this how?"

Naruto felt sweat roll of his neck. "You heard about that?"

Shizune glared at the boy and knelt to his eye level. "The Daimyou wanted to praise Konoha and Suna for raising two fine children. Tsunade nearly had a heart attack when she heard you could have gotten killed." Naruto lowered his eyes and Shizune sighed. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "We just worry. But that still doesn't excuse you or the Kazekage for letting you do anything dangerous. Tsunade had really let him have it after the Daimyou debacle."

Naruto hmm'ed thinking it was a good idea that he and Gaara took their vacation when they did. "Well we haven't left the village for the past month. I am ready for that Genin test and we are throwing me a going away party, want to come?" Shizune smiled and Naruto led her through the Suna streets.

The two headed to Gaara's house after taking a two hour detour to run around town. Shizune shook her head at Naruto. He had adamantly refused to allow help with the bags he was carrying. Shizune repressed her laughing while seeing Naruto dance on his toes trying to navigate the door way with no success. Gaara found the two of them and watched Naruto from the stairs. Naruto roared out. "I can get through this door, I got a plan."

Shizune finally stared laughing. "KANKURO! TEMARI! Help! Naruto has a plan." The sand siblings set out quickly down the steps and stopped just short of the door. Naruto stood there balancing four bags as large as him over his shoulders, a bag on his back and a bag handle in his mouth.

Around the paper handle that was quickly seeping through with saliva, Naruto ground out. "I can do it!" Naruto waddled one step after another side ways through the door with his arms spread out.

Temari saw the redness of Naruto's neck reach his face. She tried her best not to laugh but soon lost it. "You look like a crab Naruto." Naruto felt his already red face go hot but refused help from his heavy burden. Naruto finally collapsed inside the house with his baggage.

"Got enough stuff there?" Gaara smiled at Kankuro before he rummaged through one bag. He tossed it at the puppet master and saw the smile on his face. "Why high grade oil?"

Naruto spat out the bag handle and let it hit the ground with a thud. "We are having a party! And we need people to dance!" Kankuro looked at Naruto horrified.

"My puppet is not dancing for you. It's a killing tool not a kabuki doll." Temari smiled before helping Naruto with the bags. "Gaara, help Kankuro will you? I'll help Naruto.

Naruto grinned widely before he gave her two bags and took the rest into the kitchen. After an hour of cooking Naruto and Temari were satisfied with the banquet they made several different dishes and Ramen for the heck of it.

After dinner Gaara found some music and the group sat on the couch talking loudly that broke into fits of laughter. Temari excused herself to go to the bathroom and went upstairs. She walked over to the end of the hall where there was a balcony. She leaned against the closed glass doors and looked outside. "Two days…" She stood there silently and didn't hear anything until Naruto placed a arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be gone in two days." Temari and Naruto just stood there looking at the half moon.

-o-

Naruto smiled at his friends of almost two years. "Take care of yourself Naruto." Gaara and Naruto exchanged hugs followed by Kankuro and Naruto sharing a strong wrist handshake. Naruto turned to Temari and both looked away unsure how to say good bye. Naruto was about to say a cheery good by when Temari stood up to the shorter boy and kissed him on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself Naruto." She took a step back and felt her face go red and her eyes tear up.

Naruto looked at her in genuine surprise. His face slowly turned into a wide dopey smile. He turned to Shizune who was his escort and smiled at her and pointed to Temari. Shizune fondly sighed out. "Idiot." She pushed Naruto to start walking.

Naruto shouted and waved to the three children until they were out of sight. When the last sand dune obscured the city he started walking strait. After a few minutes he finally sighed out. "I'll really miss them." He looked down before looking back up. He was going to take and pass the Genin test and be with his friends in Konoha. It wasn't all bad.

"I am sure they will miss you two. You and Gaara are like brothers they way you are inseparable."

Naruto smiled. "Me and Gaara are brothers."

-o-

Temari sat in front of the television letting the snow from bad reception block out the show she was not watching. She finally gave a long huff before trying to stand up. She fell back down onto the couch and looked to see both of her brothers holding her shoulders. "What do you two want?" She was not in the mood to argue and didn't have the energy to play.

Both brothers exchanged a glance before sitting next to their sister. Temari wondered what they were up to but the three just sat there in silence while watching the snowy reception the T.V. was getting. After ten minutes Temari tried again to stand but was forced down by her brothers. "What?"

Both gave her a look they reserved when they knew she wasn't telling them something. She huffed again. "Fine I miss the blonde idiot, happy now?" She huffed willing herself not to think about the loud boy.

Gaara rolled his eyes and Kankuro mouthed out 'you speak to her.'

"We know you miss him, we are just concerned you will just think of him and not do anything. He isn't dead, just gone. You can always write to him, and if not, there is a chance to see him if and when you are a Genin and try to take the test to be a Chuunin in Konoha."

Temari perked up at this but said nothing. Kankuro looked at her staring at her palms that sat across her lap. "If you don't do something he will get taken by some other girl Temari."

Temari jerked her head to her brother. He smirked. _Got you._ Temari glared at him when she saw the smirk. She returned her gaze to her hands. "Is it so bad to admit that you like him? I mean you both kissed each other." Temari remained silent.

Gaara thought for a second. "You know I just realized something. I guess it's a good thing you two didn't go on a date. Me and Naruto were told we were like brothers. So would that mean, if you dated him… You would be dating your brother?" Kankuro gave an eww. Temari glared at Gaara who smiled innocently back.

She finally was able to stand and shouted. "All right, I'll write to the bastard. Happy now?" She ran up the stairs and the door slammed shut.

Both boys smiled. "Think they will be ok?"

Gaara shook his head. "No idea, but we are still kids. We are in no rush."

Temari slumped against the base of the door inside her room. She clung to the blue silk pillow Naruto gave her when he want to the Capital. She felt her heart break when she realized she never thanked the boy for the thoughtful gift. She sucked in air while she sobbed out. "Thank you."

- - -End Chapter 7 Siblings- - -

A/N: I would first like to say, Hallelujah! Most of the hard-work on my papers is all done. And after three days of trying to figure out how to write this chapter went no where, I was watching episodes of Naruto. Lo and Behold I see Kisame and the convenient list of crimes he had committed. One of the crimes he performed was assassination of a Daimyou. After that it didn't take me long to finish the chapter. Just had to make time to do it. And it fit so well into the coming chapters with Gaara. Temari has her own issues to work with, and yeah, she is a little angsty now, but would someone really be able to handle someone as loud and open as Naruto after treading quietly around Gaara for years? Just wanted to give a reason for my Temari's behavior.

Yes the boys are split up in two different villages, but that won't stop them from meeting again. The story says brothers, so it implies the story is about them both. I plan to alternate between the two for the next three or so chapters until I get to the next story arc. Thank you all for patiently waiting for this chapter and hoped you enjoyed it. Ok Now I am going to stop typing since I am screwing my word count.

quick day after post correction: I cleaned up the fighting scene with Kisame and went back to chapter 2, missed correcting aunt to Uncle on one of the words. Thanks for the correction, and all the reviews!


	8. Chapter 8 Test

Chapter 8 Test

Several minutes of rhythmic clacking followed the would-be ninja. He had arrived in Konoha ten minutes ago. He desperately wanted to see Hinata, and Sasuke but had to see the obachan and old man Hokage first. The thought made him grin widely. "Shizune faster!" He shouted over his shoulder. Shizune sighed at the tan and black blur that ran ahead of her. The boys blonde hair was the only thing she recognized as Naruto after the year. The boy had lost a lot of his baby fat and had a golden tan. The loose muffler that wrapped around his shoulders flapped behind the boy and the black pants were nothing but a streak over the landscape as the small legs carried the boy quickly over the city.

Naruto smiled when he saw a building he recognized from his early schooling days. He deliberately jumped on the roof of the Academy and then resumed his stride. After the single step on the roof he looked ahead smiling at the prospect of meeting his friends soon.

It was close to noon and villagers filled the streets making it impossible to walk through the city. Shizune sighed at the never ending enthusiasm of the eight year old. She smiled as the boy vaulted himself from the last roof and landed in front of the Kage Tower. Several ANBU looked at the boy and recognized him. Each removed their masks to get a better look at the walking legacy. Neither had seen the boy in years. The ANBU looked up to see the boys escort land with him giving him a silent reprimand for running ahead. Naruto waved to the ANBU and walked in. Shizune gave the two men a parting smile.

Inside, Naruto and Shizune walked strait up the stairs ignoring the receptionist when the woman recognized Tsunade's assistant. Naruto burst into the Hokage room and waved frantically to Tsunade and Sarutobi. "Hey old guys I am back!" He ignored the laughs some nin gave him as they waited to be debriefed. In the center of the room two desks divided the room. Each Kage had two ninja standing at attention at their sides. The Kages smiled at the boy. Naruto skidded to a halt and bowed to them respectfully before running around the desk and giving first Tsunade a hug then another to Sarutobi.

Tsunade looked to the five person team. "You are dismissed." The ninja left the office and the doors closed behind them. Tsunade turned to Naruto and gave his a crisp rap on the head and then hugged him. "That's for running around Wind country putting yourself in danger." Naruto gave her a sheepish smile before she hugged him again. He pushed himself out of her hug playfully.

"I wanted to say hi before I went to get Sasuke and Hinata out of class." Shizune sighed before bowing a greeting to her Hokages. "Hey old man, how is she as Hokage?"

Sarutobi laughed and pulled the pipe out of his mouth. "She is a fine Kage." Naruto nodded in satisfaction. He pulled off his bag and let it hit the ground with a thump.

"How long till the test? I am not late am I?"

Sarutobi gave a puff of smoke before answering. "No you are not. They will start in just under a week. Are you ready for the test?"

Naruto just grinned. "I am going to go see my friends now, later old people!" Naruto ran out the door laughing at Tsunade's swearing.

Naruto ran out of the tower and made quick leaps over the roofs towards the academy. He skidded to a stop over the roof fence and grabbed onto it before stomping his feet against the buildings' outer wall. Confident he wasn't going to fall, Naruto let go of his support from the fence and ran around the building and stopping at every window. He saw a few classes full, but none had Hinata or Sasuke. He stopped running and looked strait up to the training field on that side of the compound but didn't see his friends there either. After rubbing his chin he walked to the lower part of the building and searched the class rooms there. He didn't think there were any classes that didn't' have windows...

After four minutes of walking around he finally found Sasuke. Naruto passed him twice, sleeping in the back of an older kids class was the Uchiha's hair. He looked next to him and Naruto giggled at Hinata. She was trying in vain to wake up the boy. Naruto, while still standing on the wall, knelt to the window below him and performed a single hand seal. Fine grain sand floated from his bare chest through the window. It settled on the desk in front of Hinata and moved back and forth into a scribbled picture of a chibified fox. Hinata sucked in a breath of air before looking up at her teacher to see if she caught his attention. When she was satisfied she didn't, Hinata looked back to the desk's picture. The fox grinned impishly before opening its mouth and lashed a tongue made of sand snapping at the Uchiha's forehead. Sasuke gave a slight 'ita' noise before rubbing his forehead and looking around. The chuunin instructor looked at him while giving his lecture but finally looked away. Sasuke finally looked down at his desk and stared at the picture. The sand drawing changed into an arrow and pointed at a specific window. Both Hinata and Sasuke grinned at what they saw. Naruto's head poked out from the top of the window, his head hanging upside down.

Sasuke grinned before picking up his pencil and snapping it loudly. The instructor looked at him. Sasuke looked back with Sharingan eyes. Sasuke smirked when the man turned away from them again. Sasuke waved to the older students as he got up. Sand fell from the top of a window and forced the window open. The older kids just watched it happened unsure why their teacher was ignoring the noise, as Sasuke and Hinata were not masking their movements. Hinata followed him to the window and they both jumped out.

Naruto looked down at them from his spot on the building wall. "I am back!"

"Get down here before a sensei sees you. I can only use my eyes once a day with a person resistant to genjutsu like our teacher." Sasuke said behind a grin.

Naruto let the chakra on his feet go and fell to the ground. "So you guys ready for the test?"

The three began walking ignoring the several students from the advanced class watching the trio of eight year olds leave the academy. Hinata found herself between the two boys and slowly noticed she was leading. She blushed slightly at the thought and turned to Naruto. "You just saved Sasuke another lecture. He just couldn't stay awake."

Sasuke looked indignant. "It's not my fault, we have already done all the things Iruka-sensei had covered. Its boring."

Naruto and Hinata laughed. "You guys hungry?" Hinata and Sasuke nodded at Naruto's question.

He looked what was near by and noticed a BBQ place on the block. "Lets go there, Shizune-neechan said I need to start eating more beef."

Several hours later Naruto stood in front of his old apartment knowing he can't live there anymore. "Man this is going to be annoying." It only took ten minutes walking in Konoha to know that the villagers did not care for the boy and most still would likely glare at him than ignore him.

"What are you going to do Naruto-kun." Naruto grinned at Hinata.

"Nothing to worry about, I am sure I can find something. I am loaded." Both friends looked at him. Naruto grinned widely. When they started walking away he started telling of his mercenary missions.

-o-

Tsunade took off her Kage hat and glared at her old teacher. "You can't be serious."

"We both have no choice. Graduating children at eight years old is fine during times of war, but for these three at this time..." Sarutobi exhaled a long stream of smoke. "We will need to prove to the villagers with out a doubt they are shinobi. When they accept that, Naruto will truly be safe here."

Tsunade sighed before nodding. "I will be there at the academy to personally oversee the fairness of the teachers."

Sarutobi nodded in agreement. "The real test will come after the academy test. The elders chose the three children's sensei already."

Tsunade looked at him. It sounded ominous. "So they would allow the three to stay together as a team before they even graduate?"

"They just want a contingency. They honestly don't expect the three to pass the Academy exam. But they wanted to take no chances. It is better to fail three children than it was to risk failing potential ninjas who earned their time to graduate." The Third Hokage smiled around his pipe at his second successor. "But I am not worried. Those three children have enough motivation to pass anything those fools will send them."

-o-

Naruto looked at the Uchiha compound. After a moment he turned back to Sasuke. "Are you sure?"

Sasuke nodded. "I gave Hinata the same offer a long time ago. You don't have a place, I have lots of room. Lets find you a mat." The three children walked through the compound and Naruto noticed that Sasuke walked through his home with lighter steps than the last time he saw his friend at his home district just under a year ago.

Naruto looked at Hinata in question. She returned the look with a smile and continued walking forward. Naruto sped up his step and all three walked side by side through the Uchiha District to Sasuke's house.

-o-

Six days passed as the three found a small little section of the village where they were allowed to freely walk around with out the challenge many people gave them. Ironically it was the same district that Hinata constantly felt was a personal challenge. The small four blocks were the corner sections of the Branch family domain along with the Inuzuka tribe, Akamichi clan and the Hospital district where many of the last remnants of the Nara clan lived. The shops there were for the most part old nin who had retired to proceed more relaxed lives. Quite a few of them had already recognized Naruto not as the demon boy, but as a success story for relations between the Sand and the Leaf. It was with that air, that Sasuke and Hinata found themselves surprised as much as Naruto was for the recognition. The three left another shop after looking around for several hours. While the boys had everything they needed provided by the state and Hinata's provided by her father, it was something to do an hour before the test.

"This is taking too long, I want to take the test already."

Sasuke and Hinata shared a chuckle. "Let's head to the academy. We can see how the other kids are taking the pressure."

The three started their leisurely walk down to the academy. After only days, all three of the children found an immunity at the looks villagers sent them. It was actually the meeting with Hinata's father that Naruto both dreaded and had forever etched into his heart. The man was, for lack of a better word, cool. He looked once at Naruto and welcomed the boy into his home. Later Hinata asked why he did not treat Naruto like the villagers and some leaf ninjas. Hiashi looked at her sadly and said. _"You need to just look at his eyes to know there is no demon there." He tapped his own eyes and the veins around them became engorged. "We may not be demons, but I have been called one for having these eyes on more than one occasion."_ That had been the discussion and it made Hinata's heart light with out that worry of her fathers disapproval.

Hinata gave a start when she realized they were at the academy already. She followed her two friends and almost groaned when several heads from various classes poked their heads out of their class rooms when Sasuke passed by. Naruto squinted at his friend and Sasuke reddened under the scrutiny. Hinata came to his rescue. She walked in between them and looked at Naruto. "He is very popular since he is supposed to be a genius."

Naruto looked at both of them blankly. "A genius?"

Hinata gave a wide smile Sasuke could not see. "He even has his own fan club." Sasuke gave a painful groan.

Naruto burst out into laughter. After he calmed down he looked at Sasuke and his face scrunched up. He turned back to Hinata and pointed at his face. "So what does that make you and me?"

Hinata flushed and opened her mouth a moment before closing it again. She was saved having to answer when they opened the door to the noisy class room Sasuke and Hinata had skipped for the past few days. Naruto looked at the classroom in wonder. "Twelve year olds are _big_." Sasuke snorted. The room slowly fell silent at the notice of the three eight year olds and Naruto whistled. "They always like that?"

The three entered the room and found a corner away from the older students. Sasuke smirked at Naruto. "Only when I enter the room. They keep trying to talk to me." Hinata gave the girls in the class a dark look. Sasuke saw it and nudged her side. "But Hinata keeps the girls in line at least." Hinata lost the shadow in her eyes. She looked down before Sasuke gave a reprimanding cluck. He touched Hinata's hair and tugged it gently so she was looking up. "That's better." He grinned with wide teeth. Hinata gave up on looking down, but decided looking anywhere but at her two friends was just as good.

Several boys walked up to the three children and loomed over them. "Who is the other kid?"

Naruto spoke up. "Uzumaki Naruto. Here to take the genin academy test."

One of the boys ground out a sigh. He turned away grumbling about competition. The three shared a look and a shrug. The other three looked at the new boy. "Where did you come from? I never even seen you at the academy."

Naruto looked up at the second boy disarmingly. "I was in Sunakakure. I left here a few years ago and was getting ready for the genin test to be a leaf ninja. After a few years, I was just kind of sitting on my hands waiting to graduate." Sasuke and Hinata chuckled.

"I hate to see what you do when you are not sitting on your hands Naruto." Hinata said while looking towards the door. The teacher should have been there by now.

Naruto looked at her before he caught on. "But Gaara was there most of the time, we could take on anyone." The boys looked at the trio confused.

"You knew him before Uchiha?" One of the boys asked.

Sasuke grinned. "Yeah, we three go way back. I think we are the reason why he isn't a genin yet. We had to catch up so we could try to be on the same team." Every student who had been eavesdropping turned their heads at the three.

Naruto looked at them and shuddered at the sudden attention. "What?" He asked the students. The academy students all returned to their own conversations and the two remaining boys walked back to their seats. Iruka walked through the door and nodded seeing the additional student. He didn't much care at the idea of people trying to graduate so young, but he had argued all of his off time with the elders at their homes to let him run his own tests. he sighed. The three children were a serious pain. He knew that the Uchiha and Hyuuga would pass. They had led the class through every subject. It had discouraged many students and quite a few had fallen back to the previous year to get another year of academy training before attempting the test. In actuality of the twenty six who started the class, only seventeen were going to attempt to graduate.

"Attention. We are going to start the exam. However, since three of the students in the class are under the suggested age for graduation, they will need to go through a more vigorous test." He looked at the three students. Naruto raised his eyebrows. Tsunade-obaba had said they would try and do some things to sabotage his test, but to make a show out of it was a bit much. "But that will come later, please everyone remove your things from your desk and prepare for the written exam."

Several students panicked. No one had heard of the written exam during the entire time they were getting ready for the academy exam. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata exchanged smiles before they sat separate from each other. Sasuke had done his research when he said he wanted to graduate early. He found there were several tests the Academy could perform but usually don't if the instructor felt their students were competent in that area. Of the three normal tests that could be optional were the written, endurance and sparing tests. The normal test for technique competence was usually the only test that was given to the Academy students since the others were so rigorously practiced during the final year. But since Naruto had never done any of that, and Sasuke had a natural talent for sleeping during class, several tests had to show beyond a doubt they were competent for their age.

Twenty minutes passed and Naruto finally put down his pencil. He was lucky he met so many people while traveling. Some of that was hard to remember from the books. He looked around and was disappointed that he was the last person to finish the test. Sasuke was playing a pencil game with Hinata and the rest of the class were trying to be quiet while the boy finished. Naruto handed the test over to the teacher.

Iruka took the test and glanced at it. He felt sweat roll of his neck. _How can anyone read this?_ He handed it over to Mizuki and stood in front of the class. "Please stand when your name is called." Sasuke groaned before waving to Naruto to come over.

"What's so bad about being called by name?"

"They go by your family name, me and you are going to be last." Naruto looked at the class and counted nineteen students. He scratched his head and shuffled through his muffler.

"Card game?" He handed the small pack of cards to Hinata. "You shuffle since you will be going soon."

Hinata shuffled the cards and stopped. "What game do you want to play?"

With out hesitation Naruto said. "Doubt." Naruto grinned at their blank looks. "It's easy we divide the deck between all of us, and we each set down a card face down saying a number from ace as one to king which is thirteen. You can set down any card you want, but if someone doubts that you put down the correct card, they say doubt and we flip the card over, if it was not the right card the guy who set it down gets the pile of cards. But if the card was the right card, the guy who said doubt gets the pile of cards. we go through the cycle until all the cards are gone. Who ever sets down their last card wins."

Hinata shuffled through her cards. Her brow furrowed while organizing her cards. "One." "Two." "Three."

Iruka walked into the class room to call the other name and looked at the class. He smiled at how nervous many of the students were. "Aiko Kamaji." A lanky boy stood. He looked like the most nervous of the group.

"Doubt!" Iruka looked up to the top row and saw a giggling Hyuuga and a scowling Uchiha. The chuunin gave an exasperated sigh. _At least be a little nervous. This is an important test to see if you will become shinobi._ "Come on Kamaji-kun." The boy nodded and the two left the room. An hour passed and the students slowly went up one at a time. Of the seven that went in, only three returned with a head band signaling they passed. Finally Hinata stood when the teacher walked in.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"I'll be right back." Hinata bowed politely to her friends before running down the steps to the instructor. Iruka led the little girl out the door with the shouts of encouragement ring out behind her. Hinata smiled at the irritated look sensei gave the door before leading her to another room. There, several people stood around in a circle.

Iruka looked at the room but nodded at Mizuki. Iruka spoke softly to the girl. "Go stand in the center Hinata-chan."

Hinata almost jumped at the soft tone and ran towards the center squealing out a "Hai!"

One of the tallest women in the group spoke. "Hyuuga Hinata, you are to demonstrate your ability to fight an opponent more experienced than you and prove to us you are capable of living as a shinobi. Place a single blow. Even a graze will pass." A man to the Hinata's right stood forward. The man wore his black hair in a messy short mop and had a bandage around his neck and wrapped around his nose. The man fell into an aggressive stance.

Hinata spread her arms out and in a long elaborate sway, moved them in front of her. Her eyes changed and Hinata fell into the traditional Hyuuga style stance. The man charged her extending his fist to her gut. The Hyuuga princess laced her fingers with chakra and traced the length of the mans arm with out touching it as the fist came with in an inch of her stomach. The man looked at his arm before looking up and seeing that what his fist made contact with was a log, not the girl. He turned quickly expecting an attack from behind or above but did not see the girl. His body twisted from a hundred pops that ran across his back. The impact made him loose his footing and he was thrown to the feet of the circle of ninja. When the tester stood back up he realized the girl had simply hid behind one of the instructors in front of him, and waited for him to turn to look for her. He gave her a smile and a low bow.

Hinata panted hard from the adrenaline rush. Hinata now just noticed the people in the circle were clapping. She took a second to compose herself before bowing in every direction. The woman who spoke first stepped forward. "Hyuuga Hinata, you have passed the Academy test." The woman turned to Iruka who stood behind her and handed her a head band. "Take this and wear it with pride." Hinata reddened with excitement before bowing. She held the headband delicately in her hands and cradled it close to her. The teachers began to leave the room, and finally Iruka urged her to follow him out the door.

Hinata was still looking at her headband when Iruka closed the testing room door behind them. The girl finally couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted at the top of her lungs. "I DID IT!" She held her arms above her head for moment before she realized she lost her composure.

In the class room Naruto and Sasuke exchanged grins.

-o-

The group of ninja soon dispersed from the testing room leaving the head woman standing in the room with Mizuki. The door slid open and Mizuki stood at attention. "Godaime!"

"Be at ease Mizuki-kun. So Shizune? How was the girl?" Tsunade removed the hat she wore glad she did not need to wear it indoors like her teacher wanted her to.

Shizune thought for a second before laughing. "Brilliant. Sano charged Hinata, where she used her Hyuuga style as a decoy to turn Sano's attention to his arm rather than her. When she stopped her counter attack she had already completed the substitution jutsu. She hid behind the instructor directly behind her. With the jutsu completed, Sano looked behind him for the next attack. When his back was completely exposed, Hinata attacked him and knocked him off his feet. I passed her."

Tsunade smiled. After a moments thought she looked over to Mizuki who looked slightly indignant through the story. "What's wrong Mizuki-chan?"

He sputtered slightly before Shizune saved him. "Hinata was hiding behind him. She was literally gripping his back so she wouldn't be seen by the tester."

-o-

Hinata returned to the class room beaming at her friends. Naruto smiled and waved at her. "We heard you! Congratulations!" Hinata blushed but kept moving until she was on the top row.

"Thanks. So is it my turn yet?" HInata picked up her hand and set down a card. "Four." Naruto and Sasuke gave each other an evil grin.

In unison, Naruto and Sasuke said, "Doubt." Hinata glared at them before taking the stack. "You shouldn't cheat when I am not here to cheat back." The group laughed and the next name on the list of examinees was called.

Finally they put the game away when Sasuke was called. Hinata counted ten people passing making twelve when Sasuke and Naruto pass. Sasuke waved at his friends before walking down the steps. Many of the students eyed the boy wearily. Quite a few students had failed the test, and would be taking the remedial classes if they still wanted to be shinobi. When the door closed again talk among the students started up again.

"Hinata, just put your head protector on your head."

Hinata gave Naruto a look. "Where is the fun in that? I want it some place where it will look good so i can show it off." She thought for a second before she settled to place it around her neck. "I'll think of placing it somewhere else later. This is good enough for now."

Naruto just grinned. "So your test was a sparing match huh? Judging from what they others were saying, their tests were just jutsu tests. How can people fail that?"

Several people glared at the small boy but did not make a move. They had all failed. "Shush Naruto. Be nice. I doubt any of us has ever left the village yet. You have been traveling all over Wind country for years." Naruto simply gave a huff.

-o-

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are to demonstrate your ability complete a mission in the face of an opponent more experienced than you and prove to us you are capable of living as a shinobi. Pass by the attacker and retrieve your head band from this desk." Shizune stepped aside and the desk held eight head bands neatly folded in rows. The circle of ninja stepped back to give him room and a single man wearing the traditional black ninja garb stood in front of the boy. The man's sickly face gazed at the boy.

Sasuke stepped forward and the man stepped in front of him. After several attempts Sasuke swore. There was a chuckle from the woman instructor at his choice of words. But Sasuke knew he was in trouble. He had never fought or even tried to move against someone so fast. With his small body everything about him was telegraphing what his next move was. Sasuke dodged another hand when the older ninja reached for him. He looked around for another way to get around the man and the man moved where he was looking.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and looked for another way. The man moved in front of him again. The Uchiha felt his heart stop when it dawned on him. _Is he just looking to where my eyes are pointed at._ Two more tries confirmed it for the Uchiha. There was a single option to pass the test but he didn't like using it at this rate. Especially when the guy was looking at his eyes.

Sasuke looked at the room and the group of people. He really hated using the sharingan in front of so many people. He was fortunate Hinata's dad kept the information of his eyes to himself. To the day only four people knew of the active sharingan although his class mates have seen him perform some kind of ninjitsu on their teacher a number of times. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and cut a piece of shirt and placed a loose blind fold around his eyes while dodging the grabs the man did trying to push him back to the rear of the class room. When Sasuke was satisfied with the cloth, he placed it over his eyes, but not before he looked at the sick man in front of him with the sharingan. With the blind fold firmly in placed Sasuke performed several seals. "Bushin no jutsu."

A single bushin sprouted from Sasuke's body and they split in half around the man's hand. They both ran around him but the man could hear Sasuke's steps and reached for the boy confident he was in reach. The man gave a look of surprise as his fingers just grazed the boys clothes. Just as the man turned completely to chase the boy, Sasuke was already at the table with his headband in hand and the blindfold falling off his eyes.

Shizune smiled. "Well done Sasuke-kun. You pass."

Sasuke bowed to the group before leaving. The door closed tightly behind him. After a moment Shizune addressed the other ninja's in the group. "Now we just have Naruto-kun left. Who wants to test him?"

In the back the examiner who tested Sasuke looked at his hand unsure how he misjudged the distance. Shizune walked through the group. "Hey Hayate. It's ok. He did more than just the bushin."

"What do you mean?" Gekkou Hayate coughed.

"There was no way for Sasuke to move across the room so fast. It was likely you were under an illusion. When watching you, I thought your response was slower than it should have been. I think you were suckered into watching an after image of him either by a third bushin or simple misdirection."

The man nodded in agreement. "That still doesn't make me feel better. He hasn't even become a genin yet and could perform that."

"Which is why the test was given to him. There were a few elders who did not want to the boys and girl to pass. All that is left is to test Naruto. Hopefully the elders will leave them alone after this."

There was a grunt from behind the two and Shizune smiled at the jounin who made the noise. "It won't be that bad for Naruto, he has had field experience for quite some time now."

The Jounin woman shook her head. "No I was talking about this." She raised a piece of paper with Naruto's name scrawled across the top.

"His written?" The jounin handed over the test. "This is..."

-o-

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Oie, after this we will go to Sasuke's to celebrate!" Naruto waved to his already past friends. He stopped at the exit to the room and turned when Hinata called him.

"Ano- Naruto I wanted to invite you both to my home for tonight to celebrate. My father would really like it." Naruto grinned widely as he was pulled by his collar out of the class room.

Naruto chuckled while fixing the muffler that wrapped around his shoulders. he put his hands behind his head and walked into the testing room. "Oie Shizune-neechan you a tester?"

Shizune looked up from her clip board and nodded. "I am the secondary Proctor for your test along with Sasuke-kuns' and Hinata-chans'. It really is Iruka-sensei's call though." Shizune gestured to the man that had escorted the boy. Naruto grinned and walked tot he center of the class.

"What do you want me to do?" Shizune smiled weakly and shuffled through some papers. She pulled out a few leafs of paper and handed it to Naruto. "My written test?"

Naruto looked at it. He was proud of the answers he wrote. "Can you read your answers to us? No one could read it."

Naruto felt sweat roll of his head and neck. The blonde took back the paper and cleared his throat. "_Old man Diyamo said that even when the countries split apart, the ninja villages did not form until after the last of the samurais that held positions of power died. The first ninja village was Konohakakure since the clans of Fire Country were pretty happy with each other. But Tsunade-obaba told me stories of her granddad that the villages formed because her grand dad shouted louder than anyone else. But she said that was just because he was a loud drunk."_ Naruto looked at the next question and said,_ "The Hokages are the strongest people in the village and lead the ninja of their hidden village. Each of the elemental countries has one Kage and one ninja village. The Hokage is supposed to be someone who loves the village and protects everyone in it, even if they want to kill him." _Naruto paused a second before he squinted. He scratched his head before he continued onto the next question. He just wouldn't tell them he couldn't read the rest of his answer.

Shizune stood listening to the boys answers unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Several other nin in the group had similar reactions. Finally when Naruto read the seventh question aloud, Iruka recieved the paper back and marked a grade on it. "You pass the written Naruto-kun."

Naruto exhaled in relief. He looked around unsure what to do. "So...?"

"You have already proven you are a capable ninja. We simply ask you to demonstrate passing by three ninja to retrieve a scroll from the opposing side of the room." Shizune placed the scroll on a desk on the far end. The ninja's lined themselves along the wall with three of the proctors standing in the middle with kunai drawn. Each looked grim.

Naruto looked at the three ninja's and hmm'ed. After a moment he snapped his fingers and sand burst from the wall to the ninja's left. The three reacted instantly by dodging the sand as it reached for them. Naruto grinned before looking at Shizune. "Done." He raised his hand and showed the scroll. Several ninja laughed at the expressions the proctors had.

Shizune presented Naruto with his head band and Naruto shouted loudly. "Alright! SASUKE! HINATA! I PASSED!" Naruto handed the scroll over to Shizune and ran out the door eager to meet his friends. The ninja were still laughed when the three proctors demanded to know how the boy did it. Shizune knelt to where the sand burst from the wall. "Kagami look." Her finger pointed to a dent in the wall. The wall was dusty and fine grains of sand was still there. "From the moment he started reading his written test, he probably had sand hiding in the room. From what we saw, the sand attacked you three to push you against the east side of the room. I saw the scroll literally launch itself behind the sand as Naruto attacked you. Naruto likely had to wait for the sand to get into position for the scroll before he could try and use the diversion." Kagami swore but nodded in agreement. It was a clever trick.

"He earned his head band then."

-o-

Naruto led the three children through the main street proudly parading his new headband that sat around his neck. The over sized goggles that once sat there were now safely tucked inside his right pocket. Naruto's grin was contagious and soon Sasuke and Hinata joined his smiles when they finally reached the Hyuuga District. Several of the branch members who had seen the group more often than not in the past week waved at the group regardless of their own personal feelings of the blonde boy. For some they were proud that the carrier was able to grow in spite of the village. For others, they did not want to let the presence of the demon to shade the celebration of the Hyuuga's genius.

The three children entered the Head house. Both Hinata and Sasuke let their smiles fall and tried to straiten themselves forgetting for a moment that they had not checked on Naruto. "Hey Hinata-chan what's this over here?" Both Sasuke and Hinata nearly dislocated their necks at the reactionary jerk to the sudden thud and clanks. "Oops." Sasuke took off his shoes and slid on a pair of slippers before running around the corner and seeing a large wooden shelf case on the ground with several swords on the floor laying precariously around Narutos' laid body.

Sasuke repressed the urge to laugh. "Naruto what did you do?"

"I wanted to look at these long kunai's. I didn't know they made them this big." Sand slid off of Naruto's face and pushed the wooden shelf case to its upright position.

Hinata finally rounded the corner at a slow walk. "Those aren't kunai Naruto-kun. They are swords." Sasuke helped pull out a sword that had cut itself through Naruto's black pant leg and into the floor. Naruto gave her a funny look before watching Sasuke place the last sword on its case stand.

"Those aren't swords. They only have one blade." Both children looked at Naruto completely confused. Before either could respond a giggle came from down the hall. rapid thumbing followed a blur heading their way. Hinata smiled at the toddler as she hobbled towards the new ninja. "Hina! Hina!" Hinata knelt and picked up the small girl. The toddler clung onto the girls chest and buried her face into the older girls' shirt still giggling madly.

"Hello Hinabi-chan. How was your day with dad?" Hinabi giggled more. Hinata turned to Naruto. "This is my sister Hinabi. Dad was taking care of her today." Naruto looked at the little toddler with a crooked nose. "The kid doesn't smell nice." Hinata smelt it too. She groaned before she heard more giggles.

Hinata glared at her sister who giggled more. "Not nice Hinabi." She motioned for the boys to stay there while she cleaned up. "Let me fix us two up and we can present ourselves to my father again." Both boys nodded.

Naruto leaned against the wall and looked at Sasuke. "So how does it feel to be a genin Sasuke?"

Sasuke smiled. "About the same. You?"

Naruto chuckled. "It's nice to have something to show off." Minutes passed and finally Hinata returned with her sister in her arms. The three walked towards the court yard and through the small clearing before entering the house again. The room the entered had several sticks of incense and tea in a pot. "Father."

The Clan leader opened his eyes from his silent prayer and smiled at his daughter and her friends. "Congratulations Hinata. You have made me very proud, and I know your mother is watching us and feels the same." Hinata let her smile widened and traces of red graced her cheeks. "There is a feast in a short time, but we need to introduce you to the elders. My pardon Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, but this is a personal matter, will you please excuse us. I promise we will not be long." Naruto nodded but Sasuke looked at the man unsure of himself. The two left and Sasuke remained silent.

"Something wrong Sasuke?" The raven haired boy shook his head.

"Naw, I just think being in a clan must be very tiresome." Naruto remembered Sasuke telling about his clan and his brother's problems with it.

"Don't think about it too much. When you remake your clan, just try and skip out most of the boring stuff." Sasuke snorted but gave Naruto a smile. The night continued with dinner and an invitation for the two boys to share a room at the compound which they both immediately accepted. The next morning came fast and the children sat inside the class room wondering who their instructor would be. After talking to the other older students, the teacher entered the room.

"I will now list off the teams you will be divided into." The three children exchanges looks of horror. None of them had known of that step and each had assumed they would just be assigned various missions with random people. Every name that was called was torture. after several names were called, Hinata looked at the teacher. "Hyuuga Hinata," She looked over to the boys next to her. "Uchiha Sasuke." The teacher paused before he mentioned the last name. "Uzumaki Naruto." The man looked over towards the three children before shaking his head. He had obviously been against the grouping of the three children. "ALRIGHT!" Shouted the three. They clasped hands and handed each other pats on the back. The rest of the assignments were handed out while the kids talked in relief.

"Your instructors will meet you here after the break for lunch, you are all dismissed." The crowd left leaving the three youngest genin behind. Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto all exchanged looks before Sasuke pulled out a canister of water, Hinata pulled out very large bento, and Naruto pulled out a deck of cards. The hour was spent eating and chatting among games of doubt. Sasuke frowned at his hand before he placed a four face down into the pile.

Hinata pulled a card down and said "Five." Naruto followed "Six. Mmm?" Naruto tilted his head to the left when he noticed that there were no more kids in the class room.

Sasuke pulled a card down. "Seven." Hinata set down a card. "Eight, our teacher still hasn't shown up Naruto. Don't worry about it. He is probably just late."

Naruto grunted. "Nine." Naruto saw Sasuke set down a card and both he and Hinata said. "I doubt it." Sasuke sighed.

"Damn it." He dropped the ace into the pile and pulled them together into his now over large hand. "How do you two do that?" He glared at them.

"You get a face when you are planning a few turns ahead of time." Sasuke felt sweat roll of his head.

The door opened and all three children turned to the man who they expected to be their teacher. "You are late!" All three shouted in unison.

The silver haired jounin raised his visible eyebrow. After looking at all three children he recognized he blonde one immediately. Naruto was about to shout out the teachers' name but Kakashi smiled out. "My first impression is... I think you guys might pass. Follow me up to the roof." Sasuke grinned in relief as he collected the cards and handed the deck over to Naruto. Sand took the cards and pulled it against the muffler Naruto wore to cover his tanned bare shoulders.

The three followed the teacher each silently exchanging glances to his last comment. When they were seated on the roof, Kakashi started. "Now I only have met Naruto here once before, so Naruto can you please introduce yourself and your teammates follow?"

Naruto grinned while he fingered his head band that sat half obscured by his muffler. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, carrier of the demon Kyuubi, umm... I like my friends, and am going to be Hokage." Kakashi nodded as he had heard much of the same when the boy talked to him in Snow Country. He turned to the girl who eeped at his glance.

Hinata sat up straighter and said, "My name is Hyuuga Hinata, I am the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, and am creating a new fighting style. I like my friends and don't like people who are mean and hurt others for fun." Kakashi nodded while thinking of the bitterness among the Hyuuga clan. It was not widely known the power of the bird cage seal. And in truth the branch family members who were bitter of the seal were very few. Kakashi turned to the last one and wondered how this one turned out.

Sasuke looked at their new teacher. Naruto had mentioned this man once that he had the Sharingan in one eye. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I am the last Uchiha of the clan loyal to Konoha. My dream is to restore my clan and prove that I am better than my brother but rebuilding what he destroyed."

Kakashi lowered his eyes in respect for the boy. All three of them have grown in interesting ways. He wondered how much influence they truly had on one another. He thought back to his briefing and nodded his head. He had never wanted to be a instructor. _Let's see how strong their friendship is._

"We will meet tomorrow morning at 6 a.m." Kakashi chuckled slightly. The three kids looked at him nervously. "There, we will decided if you will go back to the academy or remain genin. The test I will give you has a 66 rate of failure meaning of the six teams that have passed the academy test, at most, three teams will pass and the others will return to the Academy." The three kids let their jaws drop and Naruto grounded out a long string of curses.

Kakashi stood up to dismiss them when Naruto asked. "Is this because of me?"

Kakashi looked at the boy, and though none of the children knew it, his face behind the mask was thoughtful. "No it is not. It is a regular process where we determine those who had shown proficiency have the state of mind to be active genin. Oh by the way, don't eat breakfast tomorrow, you will likely throw up." With that he disappeared leaving the children alone. The trip to the Uchiha District was a quiet affair for the children. When they got into Sasuke's and Naruto's home, Naruto went into the kitchen. When the other two kids followed to see what he was doing, Naruto had just set a pot full of water on the stove while his sand reached out and pulled out frying pans, vegetables, and cold meat. The sand moved quickly and the kitchen resembled a mini sand storm. Over his shoulder Naruto grinned at his friends. "If we are skipping breakfast tomorrow, then we need to eat a large dinner now."

Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other and smiled. Sasuke walked to the frying pans as oil was poured into the pans. Hinata took the knife from the floating sand and started cutting up the vegetables. The house was silent except for the sounds of a knife hitting a cutting board and the clanks of metal against the stove.

-o-

The three children sat on the cool grass and watched the clouds pass by. They had been at the field for four hours. Sasuke commented half way thought the second hour that it was a good thing they were so easily amused. "That one looks like Kakashi-sensei's head."

Naruto pointed to the cloud that had the top wisp into the stratosphere. Hinata giggled as the cloud dispersed and reformed into a bunny. "I always wanted a pet bunny."

Sasuke smiled while inhaling a long breath then exhaling. "Think he will show up soon?" Naruto gave a negative grunt. Thirty minutes later Kakashi's body disturbed the leaves in a tree.

"Yo!" He grinned widely through his mask. The teacher's eyes were smiling at the three kids as they jumped to their feet.

"You are late!" The three shouted as one.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life."

All three kids paused for a second before Naruto asked. "Really?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Yes, now that we are all here we can start the test." Kakashi unslung a bag from his back and pulled out three bentos and an alarm clock. He methodically wound the clock and set it down. "You have four hours to get these." He pulled out two bells and tied them to string. "The two people who gain a bell will have a lunch with me while the third is tied to the post. And you should come at me like you intend to kill me. Or you will never get a bell and likely fail the test. And with the test, the right to remain genin." The children exchanged glances. Kakshi looked at the three children sadly expecting that he was going to tear apart their bond. Kakashi hit a small button on top of the clock that started the timer. "Go!"

The three children disappeared in a burst of smoke. Kakashi looked around and was pleased that each child was able to hide themselves well. He hmm'ed a second before he pulled out his book. He stood their quietly reading waiting for his students to make a move. Time passed quickly. Aside from the snap of a twig that got Kakashi's attention. The sensei looked Sasuke right in the eye before the boy growled and disappeared from his position to find another one. Kakashi looked up from his book and realized he had gone through several pages with out so much as one of them coming to attack him. He turned his senses and noticed that all three of them seemed to be still in their hiding spots at different spots surround the clearing he stood in. _I guess I should go find them._ With that he disappeared. Hinata gasped before she saw Kakashi appear behind her. Leaves flew around Kakashi and The leaves turned to a blur and encircled the small girl. Hinata exhaled slightly when she saw that her teacher was gone. She was in danger there for a second. She took one step before she stopped. _Kakashi-sensei would not just leave me after finding me with out doing something first._ She activated her blood limit and saw that the area was encircled in a thin veil of chakra. She walked around and saw some chakra form on the ground. She gasped at the sight of Sasuke bloodied, and Naruto not breathing. She fumbled her fingers while thinking about dispersing the chakra. She knew it was an illusion now. She just had to figure out how to cancel it. After a moment she saw how her chakra pushed away the chakra in the area. The genjutsu disappeared and Hinata turned and began to look for her friends.

ON the other side of the field Sasuke had made good distance when their sensei disappeared from sight. He spotted Naruto a long distance away and could still see the boy hand gesturing to him rapidly. Sasuke returned back heatedly before he felt Kakashi-sensei stand over him. Sasuke rolled forwards and kicked at the man with his legs while standing on his arms. Kakashi caught one leg only forced seconds later to let go as Sasuke used his teachers strong arm as purchase to launch his body closer to the man. Sasuke caught himself in mid air before he threw two kunai in short range at Kakashi. Kakashi caught them and change focus from the boy tot he knives in alarm. The paper wrapped around the knives was blank but Kakashi let the momentary alarm distract him from watching Sasuke who disappeared.

Kakashi turned his head trying to hear the boy but was mildly impressed when he lost him. Kakashi started walking towards the last one of the group. As he was walking the three man team was beginning to concern him. It was as if they did not want to pass. The group had plenty of opportunities to attack him, and even Sasuke used his chance to get away rather than take the bell at his waist.

Kakashi found Naruto sitting in a tree. "Is there something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head as he stood up. "No, we just had a small argument." Kakashi felt something on his shoulder before sand solidified trapping his in their grip while they extended into long legs that embedded themselves in the ground. Kakashi wisted his hips and shoulders adn broke the sand that burst into a large cloud. Kakashi turned his head trying to sense the boy Naruto. Kakashi swore when he heard the jingle of his bells. He jumped and saw that he still had them both. When Kakashi cleared the cloud of sand, it pooled together and latched itself onto the boys body.

"You are actaully trying to get a bell then?"

Naruto grunted before the tree breanch Kakashi stood on broke. Sand sliced through the trunk in pounding force. The jounin moved quickly and ignored the hits his body took from teh sand and watched Naruto as he turned his body to face him, but still not moving from his position in a pool of sand.

Kakashi looked at the boy and thought about the whole team. He was sadly disappointed with the group. In his mind they had failed miserably. Sand attacked the jounin again and he nimbly dodge each attack.

Suddenly the attacks changed. Kakashi saw the boy smile and the sand moved quicker. Kakashi cleared the trees with Naruto following. Kakashi absently wondered when the alarm would go off, it should be soon. Just as Kakashi was aiming to return to the start several kunai flew at him. The knives hit him before his form turned into a log. He looked at Hinata who smiled sweetly at him. Sasuke landed next to her and Naruto landed on her left. Each wore a wide grin. Naruto never looked away from Kakashi-sensei. "It took you long enough to get ready."

"It was harder than it looked." Naruto felt like he wanted to ask another question but decided against it. He charged first.

Naruto raised his hand to punch the jounin. Kakashi reached to grab the fist but it turned to sand in his hand along with Naruto's body. "FIRE ELEMENT: GREAT FIREBALL TECHNIQUE!" Kakashi ignored the sand and cleared the fire jutsu. He was surprised that the boy could perform the technique at all. He was very young.

Kakashi swore when he felt several blows connect against his leg. Hinata emerged from the bushes he landed against. Her small frame flew at terminal velocity to his face with an open palm extended. Kakashi leaned back and let the blow fly harmlessly by before his legs were kicked out from under him. He turned his head in time to see an extended arm made of sand grapple both of his legs. His left arm extended to catch him and he kicked his feet out of the sand grip. Two kunai's landed next to his head and he saw these ones did have explosion tags. The explosion was small but would be enough to knock someone unconscious. Kakashi watched the three genin. They regrouped on the ground each looking in one direction with their backs against each other. Sasuke and Hinata were panting while Naruto looked like he was just breaking a sweat.

Kakashi smiled knowing they had passed the test beautifully with out taking a bell. He was about to stand from his hiding spot when he heard a grumbling stomach from Naruto. He laughed uneasily while never looking away from his direction. "Think it's dinner time yet Hinata-chan."

The three kids laughed. Kakashi's eyes widened and he turned to the sunlight as it was falling close to the horizon. In another few minutes the sky would be completely red. Kakashi looked at the three children. _Had they turned off my alarm?_ Kakashi performed a single seal and appeared in front of the group.

"Can someone explain to me why it is so late?" The three children collapsed to the ground and laughed between pants for air.

Hinata smiled. "We wanted to have just one day."

Kakashi looked at the girl once unsure what she was talking about. Sasuke added in. "Where the three of us can be a team. If only two can pass, then we won't be on a team for a while. Just for today we wanted to see what it was like." He had a satisfied grin on his face.

Kakashi felt his insides smiling widely. "And what makes you think any of you passed? You have not taken a bell have you?" Sasuke's black eyes smiled at his teacher before he moved his hand and snapped his fingers. Kakashi immediately saw the boys yes change from black to the single star Sharingan. Kakashi grasped at the two bells at his side and felt that they were missing.

"I was completely caught. How long ago did you three get the bells?"

Naruto smiled. "Sasuke and Hinata got them when you heard them last." Kakashi felt the grin inside him spread to his face. He realized now that the bells had not made a single noise since Naruto's attack pattern changed.

"The waiting game at the beginning of the test. That was to allow me to get a skewed version of time wasn't it?"

Hinata laughed out loud. "Naruto said there were times when he read where time flew by or it dragged on for a long time. Either way would work for us as long as you were really reading."

Kakashi clapped his hands in applause. He looked at all three students. "Congratulations. All three of you have passed the Genin Exam."

All three children stared at him before they all cheered and sighed in relief. "That's great isn't it Naruto?" Hinata asked while looking at the blonde. He laughed and shouted in relief. "You bet it is!" Kakashi watched his three students. He understood now who was going to have stayed behind. Naruto mentioned they were discussing something. He wondered what Naruto said to convince the other two that he should be the one to fail.

"Team Seven, dismissed. Meet here tomorrow with a full stomach." The three children cheered before standing up to leave and eat.

Kakashi returned to the beginning position of the test and was a little disappointed that he did not use the rope this time. He placed the food i the bag intent on eating it for the next few meals and slung the bag onto his shoulders. An ANBU appeared in front of the man.

"I need to report the results of the tests, all other teams have reported in except for yours, even for you this is late."

Kakashi smiled slightly. "WE actually just finished the test. My team passed. No, they exceeded the parameters of the test." The ANBU smiled widely and took of his mask.

"Congratulations then Hatake-san. You should know your team is the only one to graduate this year. the other teams were all failures and need to return to the Academy."

"All five teams failed?" Kakashi was surprised. Even in a bad year, testing teams should have at least three teams pass.

"There was no confidence in the teams this year, and several of the potentials were too self concentrated to be effective ninja's until they have matured mentally." Kakashi smiled thinking back to his team. Just the thought of having a team that was worthy of his teacher's test made him satisfied with becoming an instructor.

-o-

The two Hokage's shared a drink in their office after clearing their desks of papers. "Kampai, to team 7." Tsunade said cheerfully.

"To Team 7." Sarutobi and Shizune repeated before drinking their own cup. Among the stacks of papers were the academy written tests. Each test was identical with various hand writings asking for simple questions that ranged from the names of the Hokages to lead council members names. The only paper that stood out among the pile was a heavily worded exam with the messy scrawl of the name Uzumaki Naruto.

- - - End Chapter 8 Test - - -

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews while I was offline. It took me longer than I thought since I had problems getting paid. Long story. I just finished this story today and am posting it now. If you seen any glaringly bad errors or mistakes please tell me in a review or message. Till next time.


	9. Chapter 9 Team

Chapter 9 Team

Gaara stood in front of the council of elders. His lone small body reminded the old men and women how truly _young_ the ninja is. For their part, many felt uneasy to allow him to continue as a genin with out the aid of his friend Naruto. Gaara watched their debate with rapt attention. The ninja was dismissed after another hour of debates and waited outside the door to the chamber of councilmen.

Gaara had not been sitting idly while waiting for the village to assign him a team. For three weeks, Gaara had been watching the team training fields. He understood he needs to learn how to work with others. It was a flaw that he and Naruto never truly were able to handle. From what Temari and Kankuro had told him. Most teams consisted of four people. For a genin team, it was a teacher and three students. Gaara had remembered the times he had killed ninja who were young, and realized they always came in groups of three as if three was a sacred number that he and Naruto violated.

Gaara's concentration broke when the door opened. "Gaara-sama, if you would please move to the line of shinobi protecting the elders. It would be good to have your first impressions of the team that is coming in."

Gaara nodded while stepping towards the end of the row where it was darker than the center of the room and the large lamps that hung from the ceiling. When the doors opened he saw three teens. He easily recognized them as genin by how they carried themselves. Each of the three had a newly instilled wariness. He wondered at the team when the three knelt in front of the council. "We have returned from our mission. The mission was success with casualties." The leading teen said in a strong voice. Gaara watched two girls behind the boy. One was consoling the other over something. Gaara then noticed that there was no teacher for this team.

"Jounin Seki-sensei died while encountering an S-class ninja from the Hidden Village of the Rock."

The elders nodded before handing the boy a piece of paper. "Team three will be suspended until further notice as we determine what to do with this sad turn of events. Be prepared to return to active duty in seven days." The three teens nodded before turning out. Gaara did not know why be he found himself staring at the girl with blonde hair. Through the conversation, she seemed to have gone through several emotions that were painted across her face as if it was a canvas.

When the group left, Kitomoto turned to Gaara. "What do you think of them Gaara-sama?"

"They will survive. They could handle themselves well with their grief. How long has it been since their sensei had died?"

One of the other elders said at once. "One day."

Gaara watched the council. "Is this the group you want me to join?"

"It is the group. It will be hard for both you and the other three genin. But we believe that you are uniquely qualified to replace their teacher as he himself was a man of a serious mind and calm attitude." Gaara looked at the old men for a moment before leaving. Gaara did not know what to think about the information, but he knew one thing already. He did not have enough information on the three genin.

The sand had already started moving into a full storm when Gaara left the council's building. Gaara remembered the look of the teenaged boy and turned to his left following a faint trail of chakra he had felt in the room. Gaara stopped in front of a house. The sand stone walls stood up into a dome. Gaara let the sand from his gourd shield him as he walked around the house and into the hard winds of the storm. Sand changed into steps. Gaara walked up the newly made steps and knelt in front of a window of the house. He peered inside and watched a fifteen year old boy drop his things and head for the bedroom. When the boy arrived, he lay on his bed and gave a long exhausted sigh. Gaara knew that came from experiencing a hard mission. After a few moments where the boy laid on his bed peacefully, the teen sat up and moved his legs into a lotus position and started to chant. Gaara knew a few of the words, and realized the boy was giving a parting prayer to the fallen. Gaara left the boy to his prayers and started following a path he felt belonged to the blonde haired girl.

The wind finally settled when Gaara arrived in front of sandstone house that was etched into the ground. Gaara himself had only walked by these houses, but now that he saw it, he wondered how he could see the girl. It was the kind of house that was mostly underground. That did not lend to the boys need to observe. His conundrum was answered shortly when the door opened. Gaara disappeared with a gust of sand and wind. The girl looked around slightly confused at what she just saw since the sandstorm had just passed. She shrugged it off and walked down the street. Gaara stood on the side of a building watching her walk away. After a second he started walking after her while still on the building's side.

The teen walked to a small building on the main street and exited shortly with a two desert roses. Gaara followed her already knowing where she was headed. What surprised him was that her two teammates were already there waiting for her. The three bowed to a stone statue that commemorated the lives lost in active duty.

The dark red haired girl suddenly glared at the stone before pulling a kunai and throwing it towards Gaara's hiding spot among the circle of rare trees that protected the stone memorial. Gaara left the position before the sand could react. He watched the girl who threw the kunai and smiled as she got more agitated. "Who the hell are you? Can't you see that we need some time alone?" The boy placed a hand on the girls shoulder as her eyes began to tear. The girl turned back to the stone.

Gaara performed a seal, and the wind was kicked up by his moving sand around the circle of trees. He spoke clearly and his small voice projected into the memorial. "I am just here to observe the fallen." Gaara's sand fell while the three turned around trying to find him. Gaara stood from his position and bowed to the memorial. The three teens just saw a short form bow before they lost sight of him as he moved away. The girl swore, still angry.

"Relax Rina, it's alright. He meant no harm."

The dark haired girl nodded before the blonde girl Tsumi, gave Rina a hug. "Let's go. We still need to train. We have to show Seki-sensei that we will get better for the next time." The two girls nodded at the boy.

-o-

Gaara arrived at his house shortly after his encounter with his future team. Kankuro was complaining loudly to Temari. Gaara ignored the two siblings and went to his room. When the door shut he knew that both of his siblings had stopped talking. If there was anything that made the two of them worried it was when their youngest brother Gaara was quiet. True to form, there was a slight knock on the door and Gaara sighed while thinking about what to do with that team. "Anything wrong Gaara?" Temari's high voice asked.

"There's nothing you can do about it." Came his reply. There was a disappointed pout from behind the closed door before another voice spoke up.

"Is there anything you want to talk about to get whatever's got you down so Temari can stop dragging me over here?" There was a sudden shout of pain followed by shared growls of the two siblings over hitting. Gaara smiled before he looked around his room. He saw his mission bag there and was glad it was always ready to go. He picked it up and slung it over his back. He pulled on his head band that slid off of him while he was sitting, and opened the door. Both Temari and Kankuro were in mid-whispered argument and their embarrassment made the youngest sand child smile.

"I think I am going to take a mission to clear my head. I'll tell you guys about my problem when I get back. I promise." The two split apart when Gaara strode forward between them. The front door closed with both siblings wearing faces of confusion.

Gaara stood in front of the doors of the reception office not expecting one of the elders to

see him. It was rare that an elder would stay at the reception office where shinobi arrive to debrief their mission before officially signing off on the completion of their jobs.

A wizen old man smiled at the boy before opening the gate to let the boy in. "Is there anything I can do for you Gaara-sama." Gaara followed Kalmas. The old man was one of the nicer of the elders and the sand boy was glad to have this man see him.

"I feel I need to go on one more mission before I enter the group you have asked me to join." The old man looked at the boy. After a momentary study of the boy, Kalmas turned towards the cabinet holding missions.

"There was some argument about this mission request. And even if it was against the better judgment of the council as a whole, I think this mission may be what you are looking for." Kalmas handed a small scroll with a cloud symbol embossed on the wax seal. "We have no ranking of this mission. A man has requested your presence in two days time at Dalpei on the northern boarder of Wind Country. He has not given why he needs to speak with you, so we have no parameters to give you on this mission. The mission has been ranked 'class A': for potential dangers, but remember you always have the option to reject the mission he offers."

Gaara took the scroll and nodded. "I'll be on my way. At a slow pace I could still make it on time, and it will allow me to think on the team I have met earlier today." Kalmas smiled again before bowing to the young man. Gaara took it as his cue to leave and promptly left town to head to the north. All the while the new three man team pressed on his mind.

-o-

Rina, Tsumi and Sosan sat quietly at their gathering spot. The desert wind blew around them and up the small alley they always gathered at. Their teacher Seki-sensei would always bring them a meal to eat as they prepared for their training or missions. The four had been together for four years. Sure, they knew of people who had died, but none of their friends or anyone they knew died on active duty. Sosan huffed out exasperatedly before standing. "Come on girls, we need to do some training to get our minds off our last mission. We all knew this was what would happen in missions. We may not like it, but that doesn't mean we can't prevent it in the future." The girls looked up at the teenaged boy and smiled if only a little reluctantly. The three stood up and left to the eastern district. The winds were not as strong there and had become the groups training area for the long years as genin.

When the group arrived they started doing their stretches and Rina groaned at her stiff muscles. Tsumi's melancholy attitude slowly faded away as she gave a joke on Rina's expense. The group slowly began to get into their rhythm when they heard someone singing. The group stopped and looked over the roof they were training on and saw a single white haired old man stumbling slightly.

"_Oh woman with the pretty curls… _

_Take my heart and give me the time of my life. _

_I don't regret the sake' you had me waste for the curves you have are Dy-no-mite! _

_-giggle- _

"_Your tomatoes are ripe! Your buns are nice and warm! Oh, take my money and don't you leave with out my spice!" -belch-_

The girls turned their nose in disgust but Sosan chuckled. Rina glared at the old man before she jumped off the room. She landed in front of the man who stumbled backwards and fell on his ass. "Hey you! How dare you sing such a vulgar song in public! Have you no decency to not get so drunk so early in the day?"

The man chuckled before standing up. "Heh, sorry little miss, but when my heart feels good I must sing." The man's white mane of hair fell over his shoulders as he stumbled forward. He took two steps and fell forward. His hand flew as he fell down. Rina jumped back before the offending hand could go near her chest. She glared at the man.

After seconds' thought her fist flew through the air. "Pervert!" The old man felt his face wrap around Rina's face and he flew several feet back laying flat on his back. Rina stood there glaring and breathing hard.

The man started to laugh. He touched his cheek and sat up. "Little miss that was a great feel, do you think we can continue this somewhere nice?" The old man put his thumb and index finger together.

Rina turned red before she started charging the old man. Sosan stood in front of the old man while Tsumi caught up to Rina. "My apologies sir, my team mate is a little on edge. But it would do well to recognize a ninja when you see one." The old man chuckled but waved the young man off. Sosan smiled while looking over to his team mate. "And I think it would be good for you to know she is not going to be sixteen for another two months."

This stopped the man's chuckling. His face was a deep red. "Hoho, I thought she was at least eighteen. My apologies. Hey little miss, when you get to reach eighteen come and see me!" The old man wandered off with Rina turning a deep red in anger.

Sosan turned to his teammate and gave a small laugh. "Come on Rina, he may have been a drunk perv, but you do look old."

"I know I look old damn it! That doesn't give him the right to grope me like I am twenty yen coin!" Tsumi and Sosan chuckled. "It's not funny! What if I look like I am forty when I hit twenty!"

Sosan loudly burst out laughing.

Several blocks away the old man took a swig of his sake bottle and sighed at the tower in front of him. "Heh-hmm. Looks like I found it." After several more swigs the old man stood up and sighed at the young girl he met. "Too bad she was so young."

-o-

Gaara arrived at the appointed town with time to sleep for one night at a hotel before the meeting the client. The scroll message was curt. Just directions and that he would receive further instructions when he arrived. Gaara looked out the window of his room and sighed. The moon was a harvest moon and reminded him of the farms that surrounded the area and were protected inside the Wind Country's wind walls.

Gaara sighed while thinking about the team. He had taken the report of the team with him when he left. The three man team had performed eight D-ranked missions, twelve C ranked missions, and the one C rank that changed to an S ranked mission where their sensei died. Gaara turned the page of the small report in his hand. It gave details of how the teams' teamwork led to their victory of the S-class missing nin. It was the first mission where any one of the members were injured severely and was the only time the three teenagers encountered personal experiences of grief for their deceased comrades. Gaara looked at his new teammates' ages. After an aggravated sigh he just stopped thinking about the fact that they would be just over twice his age. He set down the parchment and slid into his mat and soon fell asleep.

-o-

"Did you just say Dalpei?" Kalmas paled. He whispered to the other old men before he stood up. "We have a single ninja headed in that direction, and he should actually be there now. Gaara of the desert had received a personal request for a mission."

The old man's eyebrow twitched. "I take it you do not know the identity of the employer?"

"No, it is not necessary for us to know a customer's identity for us to carry out a mission."

The old man sighed. "Then I will need to borrow several of your ninja to investigate and insure that the man is not still there. I may be infamous for my abilities, but even I am not above asking for help."

The old men suddenly cursed. "We are spread thin thanks to our Kazekage. We have only two teams, and one is on dismissal."

"Any team will do."

One of the elder woman snapped back. "Both teams are genin. And the ones not on leave will be no help as they just have been recently promoted to genin status."

The old man growled out. "Then give me the one on leave! We have no time!"

-o-

Gaara sat on a bar stool. He let his feet hang while eating his ramen. The café he was in had a bar and Gaara helped himself to ordering food. His early time allowed him to see the area undisturbed as it might be if and when the client arrives. In mid slurp Gaara almost choked as he felt wind stir next to him. He turned his head and saw a tall man shrouded in a black robe with red clouds.

The man's grin could be seen under his hat. "Hello, you must be the Sand Ninja Gaara."

Gaara swallowed then drank a sip of water before answering. "I am. State your business."

The man chuckled under his mouth mask. He pulled out an identical wax seal that matched the cloud on Gaara's scroll and the print on the man's cloak. Gaara relax slightly while maintaining his guard. The man had set him on edge and the boy knew to keep himself aware of his surroundings. "I have come speak with you about a long term mission."

Gaara saw a small family walk into the café. Gaara finished his ramen and set down the bill. "It would be best if we discuss this somewhere else."

The man smiled viciously under his mouth cloth. "The tree line to lightening country is just outside the city. Follow me." The man stood and walked out the front door. Gaara noticed while he was set on edge by the man's presence no one else even looked at the man's direction. It set of another tic in a long list of alarms that were going on in Gaara's mind.

At the tree line Gaara stayed in the open grass. "What is the job sir?"

"Sorry for not giving my name earlier. My name is Sasori, of the red sand." Gaara remembered the name. Kankuro's rebuilt Karasu was made by the man.

"Are you not a missing nin?"

The man chuckled completely at ease. "Yes I am. But you asked about the mission. Your mission is to join the Akastuki and aid us while we collect the tailed beasts."

-o-

Tsumi Rina and Sosan stared at the man they were supposed to be led by.

"This is the genin team I am supposed to take on a S-rank mission?" The old man started laughing. It was the group he ran into when he entered the village.

"They may be a little ragged, but their teamwork is the best for their class."

Jiraiya gave a huff before staring at Tsumi's ample bosom. Tsumi's good nature vanished as she glared killing intent at perverted old man. She took one step forward before she was stopped. "Easy there Tsumi. I thought it would be Rina not you to loose your temper." Sosan turned to the old man. "Sir, could you explain what this is about and who you are."

The man gave a loud laugh before tossing his long white hair over his back. "I am the Sennin that needs no love or money!" The old man jumped on one foot to his left. "The great ninja of the leaf!" The man jumped two steps to his right on the same leg. "The only Frog Hermit Jiraiya!"

The group sighed. Tsumi was the first to recover. "We are all going to die."

"Don't say that little miss, we need to get moving. The S-class missing Nin Sasori has been spotted in Dolpei. Our goal is to capture and restrain him for interrogation." The three teens nodded before Jiraiya performed several seals. Four large toads stood next to the old man. "We will need to get there fast. So we will be riding Gamakuchi and his tribe."

The frog growled at the old man.

"This desert heat is going to wear us out fast Jiraiya."

"Then we will need to make this run fast. We have a days travel to cover in a few hours." The frog nodded.

"That will be easy."

Tsumi and Rina looked uneasily at the frog saddles. Sosan nudged his frog slightly and was rewarded with a loud croak. He chuckled when the two girls eeped in unison.

-o-

"What is my pay for this job?"

The man laughed. "There is none, this is simple recruitment. We have had a position open in the Akastuki for some time. Our goal is to collect the bijuu and integrate them into our plans of making an organization beyond the ninja villages. Recruiting a self sacrifice container like you will greatly aid our cause." Gaara looked at the man in front of him and swallowed hard.

"And if I refuse?"

"It is too dangerous to allow someone with as much potential as you to not join us. I will have to capture you and take you there by force to remove the bijuu you hold."

Gaara's sand shifted around the boy. The red head took a second look at the robe. A sudden thought crossed his mind when he remembered another person laughing at Naruto and himself saying that it was interesting. "The shark face man. Kisame. He is one of your members." Gaara remembered the man saying that he would come again. Gaara watched the man Sasori suddenly wary of his position.

"Yes, he informed out group of your progress and that of Uzumaki Narutos'. We will be visiting him shortly." Gaara felt a slight tinge of panic at Naruto's impending visitation. "The one request we ask you in return for joining us is to sever your ties to the village you hail from."

Gaara stared at the man and sighed. The ground below him turned from earth to sand. Sasori jumped away from the ground and onto a tree as the sand tried to grab him. "I am sorry, but there is no possible way for me to give up my dream of becoming Kazekage." Sasori laughed while a large tail emerged from his robes.

"Do you really think than you can stop me genin?"

Gaara stared at the man already knowing this is only a taste of what he will have to experience in the future. "A genin may not stop you, but the Future Kazekage will." Sand burst out in arms reaching to grab at the man who skillfully dodged each attack.

-o-

Jiraiya cursed under his breath. They were moving as fast as they could. The meeting was a small café in the heart of the town. The meeting should have started several minutes ago. The four stopped on one roof when they heard an explosion. Immediately all four ninja jumped across the town towards the forest line. The ground that should have been solid earth was now a desert with trees pock marking the dunes. Jiraiya heard a stout laugh. After a few moments of searching he cleared a large dune and saw a black robed man circling a small boy. The boy had sand fly around him in extremely fast paces.

When Jiraiya nodded at his team, he said. "We don't have much time. He is a puppet jutsu user. He has taken down countries with his techniques and uses poison. Whatever you do don't touch anything he uses as weapons. Be careful of counter attacks and leave yourself plenty of room to dodge. Sosan, you and I will cover the right. Tsumi, Rina, you two are covering the left. Tsumi I will need you to throw your largest jutsu to get his attention. The boy's techniques are completely defense orientated. He may not be much help in the fight but he can defend himself. Go!" The four split up in a blur.

Gaara saw the movement and jumped into the air with Sand following him to form a platform in mid air. Sasori laughed before launching himself into the air. His puppet tail swung from his robes against the sand shield and poison spilt from the needle at the tip. Gaara jumped off the platform insuring he did not touch the poison. He did not need to be told that he just had to be touched by it, not injected.

The sand parted at the ground and Gaara fell into it with the sand forming into solid stone behind him. Sasori landed on top of the hard ground and pounded his fist on the stone shattering it. He was about to reach his hand into the sand when he felt something behind him. _Ninpou: Gyakufu_. The Akastuki cleared the ground as sand flew up into the air. Sasori moved his arms to cover his face as sand thrashed against his body. Sosan appeared right behind the man. The teenager placed several blows against Sasori's back forcing him towards the ground. The patch of sand he felt towards turned into a blade pit. Sasori moved his right hand and it extended from the remains of his cloak. The hand launched through the air grabbing onto Rina who created the trap. She gripped against the sudden pulling. But it allowed Sasori to escape the trap.

When Sasori landed he threw down his now destroyed cloak. The group paused a moment to look at the man. The man was covered in thick armor. The monstrosity was a puppet, and the group realized that the user was inside. Jiraiya was the first to recover and charged the enemy.

Sasori moved his tail to block the man before he raised his mechanical left arm. The over sized fore arm launched towards the genin before it exploded into hundreds of projectile needles. The three genin jumped back knowing they would not be able to dodge them all. Tsumi flinched when she thought the needles would hit her. She landed on soft sand. From the new distance, she was able to see sand surrounding the area in front of her. The sand fell and Gaara stood in the middle with the useless fore arm in his hand. He looked over to Sasori and a white haired old man. Gaara's eyes narrowed before sand wrapped around the arm and crushed it. He had questions why the man was leading them. And more questions about why his team was here in the first place. While he did not mind their presence, his new team was something he did not want to endanger. Gaara said in a harsh voice, "This is my fight. Stay out of the way or you will die." Gaara was satisfied with his ultimatum to the teens. Sand burst from behind the red head and pushed him forward after the two fighting men.

Jiraiya dodged the puppet tail. A ball of chakra swirled in his hand while he moved to Sasori's back. "Resengan!" The ball of chakra sank into the plated back destroying the armor there. Jiraiya jumped away from Sasori's free arm. Gaara saw his chance and forced his sand to rise like the girls' jutsu to saw through the tail. Sasori ran out of the way as his tail was cut off at the mid section. He glared at the boy, now no longer laughing. Jiraiya looked around and thought about the genin team.

"I told them to stay out or I will kill them. You should stay out of this too. This is my fight."

Another black wave of air passed above Jiraiya and Gaara glared at the girl who smirked at her target. Sasori was hit into the ground. Sosan appeared again but was wearing metal knuckles. He continually beat against the form of Sasori before he pulled back hands full of chakra strings. Sasori looked down and saw his arms and legs were grounded by the strings. Sasori looked up to see a girl in mid air throwing a kind of shuriken. "Kaze no akai!" The shuriken turned red and hit the front armor and the whole chest and body cracked under the pressure. The string that held Sasori relaxed.

Gaara raised his hands and sand engulfed the area in a thick sand storm. Torrents of sand crushed itself against Jiraiya before he let himself be pushed out of the vortex. He landed on loose sand and the sand genin team ran up to flank him. From inside the sand storm Gaara shouted. "This is my fight! I will handle this."

"Any ideas Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya growled. He made several seals before he spread out his arms. "_Katon: Monban no jutsu_." Several flames appeared around the area before the connected in long lines of streaming fire. "This is all I can do right now." As he finished he felt blood lust come from the sand tornado. Yellow chakra laced the sand and the winds turned faster. "It is up to the boy. He is determined to make this his fight. Each of you will move to a different flame watch tower. We can't let Sasori escape." The group spilt apart again each knowing that it would not be smart to stay to close to the fight that was rapidly escalating.

Gaara stood in the middle of his sand storm. Sand covered his face in a long muzzle and yellow eyes. Black disfigured pupils saw through the sand as if it was not even a haze. Sasori let the puppet armor fall from his form and he stood forcing his chakra to protect his body. Gaara felt his body at the point of no return. He performed several seals. In an unearthly voice he whispered. "_Ninpou_ _hebi-tei."_ The spinning sand changed direction from spinning up to spinning down. Gaara smiled showing jagged teeth. Sasori's now small body was having trouble staying above the sand that was trying to burry him. He gave an aggravated shout before he moved his real left arm to his side and launched it out of the sand and latching to one of the remaining trees far from the storm. He pulled himself out of the storm and narrowed his eyes at the boy when the sand fell and the air cleared.

"You have made a mistake. We will take your bijuu regardless of your will. You could have saved yourself the trouble by joining our ranks."

Gaara glared at the man. His over sized mouth grounded out, "Abandoning my village is something I could never do. And it is something I will never forgive. I will kill you."

Sasori's laugh returned. "You should have been paying more attention child."

Gaara turned in time to see the boy from his team perform a seal. Dark wind raged against Gaara's natural barrier. The boy was confused for a moment before he realized what happened. Like how Kankuro controlled his puppet, Sasori had taken hold of his teammate. Gaara growled before sand wrapped itself around the teenager. "Let him go Sasori."

Gaara jumped out of the way as another of the genin team ran towards the S-class missing nin. Sasori caught the girls' fist and twisted her arm flinging her towards the boy. Gaara's sand reached out and softened her fall. "Go restrain your team mate. If you have worked with puppets, try and sever Sasori's strings." Gaara stepped forward as the girl dashed to Sosan.

Jiraiya watched the fight from his post at the highest fire pillar. His eyebrows were concentrating and he cursed the impulsiveness of these kids. He pulled out one hand from his hand seal and drew out a scroll from his robes. He threw it into the air in front of him and several over sized stars appeared from it. With a few thoughts of concentration, they flew straight at Sasori.

Gaara saw the projectiles and moved sand around Sasori to prevent the man from seeing them. Gaara felt a sting in his eyes and suddenly realized how tired he was. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer like this. The man had not truly attacked yet, but rather let Gaara exhaust himself. With a dash Gaara forced as much sand as he could to push the puppet master towards the ninja stars.

Sasori tried to move, but found sand gripped his feet. He covered his chest and face with his arms and felt himself being hit with a force that cracked his puppet arms. His body flew for a second before the stars hit their mark. Sasori fell to the ground and the sand subsided. Sosan was in control of his body, and he led his team to stand opposite of Gaara incase the man was able to run. Jiraiya walked to an open side to form a half circle. He closed the gap and knelt next to Sasori's body. He saw Sasori's eyes snap open before a he heard a sizzle. "Shit!" he shouted trying to clear the body.

The teens did not get a warning before they dived for cover as the body exploded. After several moments Sosan got off his team mates and looked around confused as to why he and his team was not dead. Gaara gave a half chuckle and let go of the sand wrapping the area that the puppet masters' body laid.

Jiraiya walked cautiously towards the burned body. He turned quickly and checked his jutsu that surrounded them. "This isn't Sasori." Gaara looked at the body of a puppet with a hollow body. And cracked skull. There were no traces of chakra through it, and nothing that could have sustained chakra if it was alive.

Gaara looked around but shook his head. "Where ever he is, he is long gone now. He likely replaced himself in the opening moments of our fight." Jiraiya swore but cancelled his jutsu when he was satisfied his jutsu had not allowed anything to pass and had not sensed another person in its field.

Jiraiya went to check on his team. "Are you three alright?" The three teens nodded before looking at the boy. Jiraiya turned back towards the small bow with the sand head band around his neck. "Are you alright?"

Gaara rotated his neck feeling aching stiffness. "I will be fine. I have run into his group before. I am not worried about them." Gaara started walking away as a gourd of sand formed at his retreating back. "My mission is complete; I will stay in town to rest and leave in the morning." Gaara turned to the group. "Old man, check those three with a hospital to be sure, then you should all get some rest. Have a good day." With that Gaara casually left as if the whole battle was nothing but a stroll.

The teenagers stared at the boy incredulously. Finally Rina said out loud. "Is he for real?" Sosan grinned at his team before he started leading the group towards town.

-o-

Gaara sat in the ramen house eating the last of his ramen before heading to his room across the street. The chatter of the towns' folk continued ceaselessly as if no one heard the fight just outside their city. But judging the looks many of them held, they thought it was likely ninjas' as a few of them bowed their heading acknowledgment to the young nin. Gaara smiled slightly at this and paid for the two bowls. While he liked ramen, eating more than three large bowls of the noodles was impossible for him.

Outside, Gaara sighed and stretched. The sky was just turning red, and he knew he should sleep off the fight, but with the thought of his future teammates in town he knew he wanted to see them one more time.

It was not hard finding the other group in the town. The several main roads for restaurants and hotels connected together with the shops and stores off to the left and houses to the north. Finally he stopped in front of a barbeque house. He could hear the voices of the two girls laughing about something. While he wanted to speak with the group, he did not know what to say.

"I heard from the Suna Elders, that this was going to be your team in two days."

Gaara grimaced at being caught in an awkward situation. The red head turned around and greeted the old man. "How can I help you Jiraiya of the leaf?"

Jiraiya jumped off the roof of a building he was a look out on. "Oh, and you know who I am. I would have thought with your curiosity that you would have asked me right after the fight why we were sent out here."

Gaara shook his head. He turned back towards the restaurant and moved so he could see his future team. They were happily chatting in much the same way Gaara and his family would. With a weak chuckled Gaara exhaled. "I only know who you are because my friend from the leaf had to study about your history a lot. And I already understood why you were here when you placed the barrier around my fight with Sasori. I am amazed your group arrived so fast."

Jiraiya stood next to the boy and eyed all four members of the new team. "I can move surprisingly fast with the right motivation. So it was true you have run into the Akastuki before?" Gaara looked at him curiously but nodded. Jiraiya groaned and scratched his head. "Alright, thanks for telling me. While their current project isn't collecting the bi-juu, it is likely one that was spurred by the fact that you are so able at such an age. Aside from the eight and nine tailed demons, any of the others would be easier to capture if they were not in a self sacrifice." Gaara nodded while thinking on something.

"I thought that it was going to be Kisame that would come and find me again. This fight with Sasori arrived sooner than I expected."

"I wouldn't worry about it for now. Sasori wanted to find an easy bijuu. Recruiting a young boy was probably the easiest method to succeed their goals. When they come again it will be a few years later, and with more of them. They had lost a few members in recent years, so I was surprised that any of the group would make a move by themselves."

Gaara nodded while remembering the glimpses of Kisame and Sasori's ability to fool them all that the missing nin they fought was nothing but a puppet. "Thank you Jiraiya. I think I seen enough of my team for now. Good night." Gaara walked away from the senin. When the young boy was clear, Jiraiya turned back to the laughing team.

"Maybe this team will help you, Gaara of the sand."

-o-

Gaara arrived home after seven hours of travel. He sighed in relief when he dropped his gear at the door and followed the smell of cooked vegetables to the kitchen. He smiled while Kankuro stood on a stool to reach the high cupboard that Gaara usually placed the plates. He turned and saw Temari at the stove adding something to her pan. It was a pang of disappointment when he realized he would not be a team with his siblings. With the sudden realization he felt better about his reluctance to join a team.

Gaara walked into the kitchen and sand fetched an extra plate from the cupboard Kankuro was done using. "I hope you made enough for me as well."

Temari turned to the boy and smiled. "I suppose." Gaara and Kankuro laughed at an old joke the three of them had. After dinner Gaara looked at his siblings with a smile. When Kankuro looked up he gave his younger brother a look.

"Is there something wrong with my face Gaara." After a moment's hesitation, Gaara told his brother and sister about his mission. How he saw how well his future team worked together and the man named Jiraiya.

"Then I thought right here that I was a little disappointed that we wouldn't be a team… as if I am going to forget you two or something." Temari gave the boy a hug.

"You will just have to find time for both us and your team. I guess you were lucky that Naruto liked to hang around all of us." Kankuro gave an irritated huff.

"To play pranks, yeah." Gaara smiled again.

"Thanks. I think I am going to get some sleep. I meet my team tomorrow." The group said goodnight to each other leaving Kankuro staring at his puppet Karasu.

The puppet was in parts getting its detailed maintenance. After he placed another arm in a socket and testing it with his chakra strings he let it fall to the ground. After a few blank moments Kankuro murmured aloud. "So Sasori-sama fought my brother and is now trying to kill him." Kankuro looked at his puppet that was a masterpiece created by Sasori of the red sands. Kankuro placed a hand on the puppets head. "I am sorry Karasu, but I can't use you anymore." Kankruo stood and moved the individual pieces into its container and shoved the container into the living room closet.

"I'll have to find another way if I want to be a puppet master. I don't need any easy shortcuts that were given to me by father."

-o-

Gaara arrived at the office an hour early. He felt a little anxious at the groups' reaction after seeing him fight a few days ago. A small part of his mind told him that at least they would take him seriously. The elders nodded to the boy when he walked in. "Gaara-sama. If you would be so kind as to stand with the guards, we can wait for your team to arrive while we assign a few other missions."

Gaara stood at attention until his shoulders hurt from the unnatural position. After a while he let his shoulders slump and he gave a slight sigh of relief. They were quickly returned to attention when he saw a head of blonde hair from the group coming in.

Gaara refrained from letting himself turn when the door closed and shuffling their stopped near him. He heard one of the girls voice ask. "Why did you ask us here Elder-sama?"

The elders looked at each other before three conceded their votes by a bowing of their heads. The two centered men turned to the girl and her partner. "Encha Tsumi, Komosubi Rina, Toaen Sosan. Your genin team was sent on a "C" ranked mission. After encountering missing Nin, your mission turned into an "S" rank mission. As the only casualty of your failed mission, Kenta Seki, ensured his charges would survive the encounter. We have come to the decision that we will be disbanding Team Three. You three will be assigned to a new team where you will be working with an experienced Ninja who has worked alone on his missions for some time." Both girls nodded quietly before the blonde girl raised her hand. "Yes Rina?"

"Who is the leader? And does this mean we are not having a teacher anymore?"

One of the old women smiled. She looked right behind the team and at the red headed boy. "Gaara will be your leader and teacher. From here forth you will all report to him as Team Gaara." She grinned wider at Gaara's red face and biting tongue.

Tsumi nodded before she asked. "So where is this Gaara now?"

Gaara turned his head to allow himself to see their curiosity for the first time. The one named Rina was a tall dark red haired girl while Tsumi was a blonde haired girl with long lashes, Sosan was a deeply tanned boy with brown hair. All three of them were in their mid teens, and Gaara wondered again why he was on a team. "I will be your leader." Gaara droned out in a monotoned voice.

Tsumi took one look at the shrimp and bit back a shriek when the boy they saw a few days ago was the one they would report to. After a split second to recover from her shock she grounded out. "What the hell? We are going to report to a cute little kid?" Gaara looked at her oddly at the word 'cute'.

Rina started her objections just as quickly. "Who is going to take us seriously? There is no way I am taking orders from a pipsqueak like that! What's with the red hair? It makes him look like he is pretending to be the Kazekage or something."

Gaara looked at the girl and smiled. He turned to walk away. After a breath of a chuckle escaped his lips he said to the old people while leaving. "They will do well with me. I'll teach them to survive. Especially the loud one." Rina turned to say something in retaliation before Sosan hit her over the head.

The elders laughed. "That couldn't have gone better." Elder Kitomoto said to the group in approval. The teens looked at the old man. "Gaara has completed more A rank missions than your team has performed all ranked missions in your entire career."

The group took the information in. Sosan stood forward. "Where is the meeting post for our team?" An old woman smiled.

-o-

"This is the place we first met him?" The group stood at the memorial. At precisely an hour after sunrise Gaara looked at his team.

"Yes, this is where I first spoke with you. You three were in mourning and I had come to pay my respects." The group looked at the boy in understanding. "We will not take a mission for today; I just want to get to know the people I will be working with." The group sat down in front of the memorial. The talked for much of the morning. It was apparent to the teens that this was the boy their parents had told them to be careful of years ago. It was an odd sensation to remember those painted memories and seeing the eight year old now.

"What is it Tsumi?" The blonde was staring at Gaara for most of the talk.

She turned red before she giggled. "Sorry Shishou, but you are just so cute! You are talking all serious, but I can't help but pinch your cheeks." After the second of warning Gaara could only stare in shock as the girl's hand passed through his sand and pinched his cheek. He stared at her in shock. When he recovered he said nothing to the group about her ability to pass through the sand. He smiled at the girl.

"So I am cute?" Gaara asked in a slightly disbelieving tone. "Can you still take orders from me?"

Tsumi stuck her tongue out at him. "Of course I can, it's why I call you shishou." Her eyes widened. "Can I call you Shishou-chan?" Sosan could not hold his breath any longer and busted out laughing Rina was fast joining him as Tsumi pinched the boys' already bright red cheeks. Around his full cheeks, Gaara sputtered out.

"Lehk goh ov mah cheehks!"

-o-

Gaara watched his team bow to him. He gave an exasperated sigh before waving at them to stand. "What is it Tsumi?" The sixteen year old girl stood and handed a scroll to the red head.

"We just received the message from carrier bird."

Gaara scanned it for a moment before looking at his teammates. "We are heading back. The mission is going to be labeled a failure. The man we were on our way to escort has already been killed."

The team lowered their heads. It was their first failed mission since they reformed as Team Gaara and they had not even reached the person they were supposed to protect. Gaara placed the scroll into his sand and started leading the way back to Suna. It was getting late night during their return run when Gaara's second teammate Tsumi asked. "Shishou-chan?" Gaara gave her an irritated look over the title but nodded his head. "Were we just too slow to respond to the mission?"

Gaara cleared the next sand dune and finally stopped. He was breathing lightly but he saw both girls were breathing hard and the boy had a layer of sweat on his back. The group needed a rest. "No. If anything, the man knew the danger he was in and asked for the strongest shinobi that his money could afford. He likely thought that he was safe enough in that city to wait for us. It was what killed him; his confidence let him lower his guard. Had he been more thoughtful about it, he could have hired a ninja from the leaf who could have been just as effective and gotten there a day and a half earlier."

Rina looked at he small boy with confusion. "But aren't the Leaf our competition?"

Gaara smiled before walking forward content that the team had recovered enough. "Yes they are, but they are also our allies, no one would have begrudged the man for seeking ninja aid from the Leaf." With that, Gaara set the pace again, intent on making his three teammates go at his full pace within the year.

Sosan scratched his head at their leader's comment but continued after him. While no one knew why the boy was in a hurry all the time, they three teenagers understood that if they wanted to keep up, they had to take their training seriously. The grueling pace Gaara set for the team quickly extended through the rest of the night. When Gaara looked up to the sky, the moon was already fading. Gaara smiled at the image, before turning to the rising sun. They would make it into the village right as the tower would open for customers. He started to move forward when he heard one of the girls fall to her knees. Gaara turned to the two girls and scratched his cheek. He forgot to check on their progress during the last stretch. Neither girl looked like they could go much farther with out any rest and Sosan was bending over breathing hard. Gaara sighed for a moment before looking at the girls.

"Tsumi, Rina, Get in."

"Gaara-sama?" Rina looked questioningly at their leader.

Sand burst out of Gaara's gourd and formed into a small skiff. Both girls looked up red faced. When they saw the boat they looked at the boy as if he was insane. Gaara gave the two girls an irritated look. "Get in; you two are too tired to run any further." Rina stood and tried to get her teammate to stand but Gaara's patience wore out and sand flew in a wave picking them both up and dropping them off in the skiff. "Get some rest. We'll get to the outskirts of Suna in two hours." Gaara turned to Sosan, "If you are tired you are welcome to take a rest as well." Sosan nodded but just placed his bag in the skift before Gaara stepped up his pace and the sand boat obediently followed after him. Tsumi looked at the boy with her mouth open slightly in awe. She turned to her friend only to see Rina was already fast asleep. Tsumi grinned over her blonde hair and laid her head down where she promptly fell asleep.

Gaara bade goodbye to his teammates still unsure how to handle the attention they gave him. "At least they don't _all_ call me little master anymore." Gaara walked past the Academy and stopped before turning around and walked through the doors he hadn't been in since he was six. Inside was not much different than he remembered. The floors were still covered in black and gray tiles. Walls were painted a sort of beige color. His siblings were still there. Gaara looked at the opening doors and saw Temari with a head band over her eyebrow and fan strapped to her back. "Gaara!"

The redhead smiled before nodding his head to meet her outside. She followed him and the students flowed around them not aware that the red head was the boy they had flee'ed from short years ago. Temari noticed and looked at Gaara in question.

"If they can forget about me in two years, maybe its better that they do."

Temari nodded before following her brother out of the school yard. Several thuds chased them until Kankuro huffed at the two of them. "Thanks for waiting." He glared at his siblings before the three were led by Temari to their home. When they arrived all three dropped what they were carrying and headed for the kitchen. Gaara got the bowls, Temari the ice cream while Kankuro set the table. When all three were seated Kankuro served the ice cream. The silence was finally broken with Gaara who set his ice cream down. "I failed my first mission today."

Both brother and sister looked at each other. "What happened?"

Gaara shook his head while thinking about the assigned mission. He knew there was nothing he could do, but he still felt that it was a mark he would never get of his record. "It failed before we even arrived. I was considering if I should ask that the mark be removed from my record, but the assignment was given to my team not just me. It would be rude to just ask."

Temari stirred the remains of her ice-cream before she gave a cheeky grin. "Don't worry about it Gaara, the way those two girls worship you. They wouldn't even notice anything."

"At least we are not given any high ranked missions yet. It is nice to not worry about anything serious." Gaara paused at the thought. He thought he was forgetting something. When he looked up he swore.

Loudly.

"Temari, did you ever send those letters to Naruto?" The girl turned bright red. "Never mind." Sand whipped out from his body as he ran up the stairs to her room. He heard her shouting and yelling at him to stop. Gaara blasted sand to cover the door not trusting that he door itself will hold if Temari was determined. After looking for a few seconds, he grabbed the first letter in the small pile of letters the girl never sent and saw the address where Naruto was living at. It was by luck that Shizune sent them a post card with Naruto's address. But it also gave the warning not to give a name, just an address. Gaara grabbed a blank scroll and started writing a quick note.

_Naruto, I ran into another member of those guys we fought in the capital. The __**real**__ strong one. I am fine, but they are after all of the tailed demon containers. They came after me a few weeks ago, and just remembered that they would try and get you too. Be careful. You know these guys are strong. And I think that blue faced guy Kisame might go after you since he didn't show up here. Oh, and Temari misses you. I grabbed one of the letters she is too scared to send and am sending it over. _

_Gaara_

Gaara slid Temari's letter into the rolled up scroll and jumped out the window not daring to cross his sisters path for a few hours. He jumped over several buildings before he landed in front of the ninja communications tower. A jounin recognized the boy.

"How can I help you Gaara-sama?"

"I need this sent to Konoha immediately. Something's come to my attention and my friend needs to be notified."

The man nodded not questioning the statement. He took the scroll and sent it by falcon. Gaara watched the bird fly over the desert sky. "The scroll should arrive to Konoha tower in five hours."

Gaara nodded.

-o-

It was already several days in fire country that the two decided to go to their destination. Neither one had really anything they planned to do, so it was with a little surprise that the loud one of the group suggested it. "So this is Konoha. It smells nice. But it needs more waterscape." A loud thud sounded as he let his sword touch the ground. The man turned towards his companion. "No nostalgia eh?"

"…"

"Fine then. I am just looking for a rematch. You can take him now or later. But I heard that he dragged along a certain Uchiha."

"That is the only reason why I chose to follow you. We are years a head of schedule. Even if we captured him now, we would have to wait at least two years, and the ideal time would be in seven years."

"Like I said before, I just want to have some fun. Akatsuki be damned."

Uchiha Itachi gave a small half laugh. "That is treasonous Kisame. Do you want to end up like that worm Orochimaru?" Kisame shivered. "I am only interested in my brother. To be come strong so soon is something worth my time to watch. If Uzumaki Naruto has truly aided my brother in becoming strong, then he may live awhile longer." Itachi nodded before the two started walking down the main path towards Konoha.

- - - End Chapter 9 Team - - -

A/N: eh, here is another chapter. It was a little hard getting this story arc up and running. Now that this chapter is up, hopefully the next one won't take over a month to write. This one is a little short of the 10k mark but since so many others went over, I thought this was ok.

Shishou-chan : little teacher/master

Ninpou: Gyakufu: ninja arts: head wind

Kaze no akai: wind of red

Katon: Monban no jutsu: Fire element gate watcher

Ninpou hebi-tei: ninja arts heavy air

A/N; I knew that I needed to come back and fix the girls names. After writing Chapter 11 and establishing more of their personalities I was able to fix everything. Thanks for reading throught the confusion. 3/10/07

10/20/2009


	10. Chapter 10 Memory

Chapter 10 Memory

Naruto sighed at the farm before he performed several seals. Sand along the length of the field burst across the length tilling the ground it scrapped across. A jet of sand moved between Hinata's legs. Her eyes looked through the tilled dirt and started throwing seeds into the rows of dirt in long lines making sure that each seed penetrated a few centimeters into the ground. Sasuke chuckled before he looked at the long trench made for irrigation. His eyes turned red and the pupils swirled inside their iris. Several seals passed through Sasukes' hands before he exhaled a long stream of water. The irrigation ditch corralled the water into the new rows. The water finally sank into the earth. "Alright guys lets try and get that stupid pump thing working now!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder while running along the farm. Sand collected itself at his feet in a long sifting sound. The blonde stopped at a corner and sand pooled into his clothes and melded with his fading tan.

Hinata sighed before sitting down. "Let's do it after lunch Naruto-kun, I think we deserved to eat after all of that."

Sasuke chuckled before he pulled out their pack. "For all of our talk, we didn't really do anything. We just planned all morning. We actually planted everything in seven minutes." Hinata looked around. Satisfied Kakashi-sensei or their employer was around; she stuck her tongue out at Sasuke. Naruto laughed loudly before setting down with the bento Hinata made.

The three were discussing how the water pump worked around octopus shaped rice balls when a soft wind settled next to them. All the shouted with full mouths, "YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi smiled at the three before turning his gaze over to the farmland that had been freshly plowed and seeded. "Well done. That just leaves the water pump and we can return back to Konoha by the end of the day. Well done you three." The three kids smiled widely. The mission was planned to last for three days, and they had successfully got most of it done by noon. By the time the group was ready for dinner, they had all decided to hold off on it until they arrived back in Konoha. The sky had already darkened by several shades when the group arrived at their home village. Sasuke stretched, Hinata yawned, and Naruto's stomach reminded them they had not eaten yet. He grinned sheepishly before they entered the barbq beef restaurant closest to their gate.

Their sensei Kakashi Hakate smiled at the three children while they talked and ate. "That's not what I said Sasuke and you know it!" cried Naruto.

"Yes it is. You said you will buy us barbq if one of us could out eat you. I did. Now pay up." Naruto growled while Hinata laughed. The smiling eyes of their teacher only looked up when a man arrived behind Sasuke wearing a white boar mask. The man handed a letter to Sasuke and whispered it something into his ear. "Naruto we know you have the money, why is it so hard to pay?"

Naruto pointedly ignored the ANBU. "It would mean I lost."

Hinata giggled before she said. "But you did lose; he ate three more pieces of beef than you." Naruto groaned before submitting.

The Uchiha nodded at the ANBU's words before stuffing the letter into his shirt and glancing at Naruto while continuing the three's conversation. At Sasuke's glance, Naruto tilted his head to their teacher and he disappeared and headed towards the entrance. Sasuke Hinata had hurried up to finish their meals. At the trill of a bird Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto left the barbq and walked down the streets of Konoha. The two boys walked Hinata to her compound and she smiled at them both and they wordlessly nodded that they would tell her everything in the morning. The two boys looked at each other before they broke into a sprint and headed straight to the Uchiha compound. The boys knew that their sensei went to confirm the origin of the letter. When they were safely inside Sasuke handed the letter to Naruto.

Naruto recognized Gaara's small scrawl and opened the rolled scroll. A smaller paper rolled out when he opened it fully and it rested on the floor. Naruto read the letter Gaara sent him and gave a silent sigh before putting it away. He squatted and picked up the second letter and stared at it not daring to read it. Gaara had said it was a random letter that Temari had not sent to him. Naruto jerked his head up and saw an attentive Sasuke staring at him. Naruto chuckled nervously before putting away the letter Temari-chan sent him.

"I need to speak with the Hokage. Gaara ran into some trouble, and I need some help with what he told me."

Sasuke looked at him. The happy boy the Uchiha knew was absent. In his place was a confident child who was a complete ninja. Sasuke started to follow the blonde when he left the house, but Naruto turned around and stopped him with a raised hand. "Sorry, but I have to do this alone."

Sasuke looked at him confused before he remembered that Naruto was already a few levels above him. Sasuke looked apprehensive about leaving his friend alone at night but went back inside and turned on the radio while he started to sharpen his weapons. Naruto smiled slightly before he turned into sand and reappeared in front of the Hokage tower. He walked up mindful that while the old man might have gone home, Tsunade-obachan will still be there drinking.

After several flights of stairs he stood in front of the Hokage offices and heard talking. After hesitating for a moment he walked in and looked over to his sensei. He was standing at attention. Tsunade watch Naruto walk in and she smiled at his surprise that she was not drunk. He stood next to his sensei and pulled out a letter.

"Obachan I have a problem." He gave her the letter. Tsunade looked at the front and back before reading.

_Naruto, I ran into another member of those guys we fought in the capital. The **real** strong one. I am fine, but they are after all of the tailed demon containers. They came after me a few weeks ago, and just remembered that they would try and get you too. Be careful. You know these guys are strong. And I think that blue faced guy Kisame might go after you since he didn't show up here. Oh, and Temari misses you. I grabbed one of the letters she is too scared to send and am sending it over. _

_Gaara_

Tsunade looked up at Naruto to elaborate. "When I was on a mercenary mission with Gaara we met up with a man who tried to kill Daimyou-san. Kisame left when he said he knew me. We fought er- he kicked me around then said he would come back when Gaara showed up to help me. Gaara said he met someone who is friends with Kisame a little while ago and that Kisame will be coming back for me soon." Tsunade listened to the story and looked down to the letter again.

"I have spoken with Kakashi about this, and we were able to retrieve a report of that incident after searching through the summery reports Suna had sent us in part of our friendly exchange clause." Tsunade smiled at the boys' confusion but kept going. "The man was named Sasori of the Red Sands. A missing nin from their own village. We gathered, in part to an old friend, that they are apart of a group called the akastuki."

"The Red Dawn?" Naruto asked while sounding out the name. Tsunade nodded. "While my friend didn't know their goals, it seems your friend Gaara found out the hard way. At this point I am going to send your team out on a rank-C mission. This is to give you some breathing room while I handle the council and more time for us to prepare for such a high class ninja coming to Konoha. At the moment besides Anbu who are always patrolling the country, there are only five jounin that are currently in the village and only one of those is with out students." Tsunade looked at Kakashi-sensei. "It will take a while to prepare and apprehend and question this kisame."

Naruto nodded in understanding. In the Sand village, he had to get used to understanding what the elders said or risk getting into trouble. It was easy to fall into that routine while listening to the old woman talk. Tsunade nodded once and Naruto's sensei cleared his throat. "Naruto, tell the others that we will meet tomorrow morning at 6a.m. at the south gate. I'll be on time just this once." Naruto looked up at his teacher in surprised for declaring his punctuality.

Naruto returned late and walked into the house already knowing that Sasuke was asleep. Naruto stretched form the long C ranked mission they did all day and went to bed. He had to wake up a little earlier than usual to explain everything to his team.

-o-

Naruto woke up and stretched before he immediately went into the bathroom to shower. When he got out he saw Sasuke standing at the door still not quite awake but ready to enter to get ready for what ever got Naruto up and about. While Sasuke was in the shower, Naruto finished getting dressed with his hide muffler that wrapped around his neck and shoulders and a pair of pants that were black with the orange-lines that followed the seams. Naruto playfully messed with his hair at the mirror next to the door with his still damp hair before leaving. His head protector pressed around his neck when his feet burst with speed out the door.

Naruto jumped over roofs and cleared streets before landing in front of the Hyuuga compound. He ran in and waved at the guards who merely looked at him once before returning their gazes back to the front. Naruto ran down the main street and jumped over the gated fence that housed Hinata's family. Naruto leaped un to a tree and over to the roof. His feet tak tak'ed as he ran and the blond only stopped at Hinata's window. He walked over the ledge and let his feet stick to the side of the wall. He grinned evilly when he saw she was still asleep. Naruto squatted stuck his head into the girls room. He moved one hand to cup his mouth and said in a whisper. "Hinata…" The girl stirred slightly. "Hiiiiinataaaaa…" Naruto repressed the giggle and walked into the room quietly minding where he was walking on the ceiling. When he was directly over her head, he looked strait down at her. "Hiiiinataaaaaa; Sasuke was captured by his fan club again." Hinata ripped her eyes open and sat up.

"Those bastards!" She promptly placed her hand around her mouth and looked to her bedroom door. After a moment of not having her father walk in, she exhaled before she looked around. A second later she heard snickering and looked up. She screamed in shock and fell back onto her sleeping mat.

"Naruto get out!"

"Ok, ok." He said after laughing loudly. "Get dressed and meet us at Sasuke's we got another away mission." He smiled brightly at her and left the room. Naruto leapt over the guards who had run towards the main branch home. When Naruto passed the garden, he noticed that Hyuuga Hiashi looked at the boy. Naruto grinned widely at the leader. Hinata's father turned away, but Naruto caught the tug of a smile at the man's mouth.

Hinata arrived at the boys home twenty minutes later still fuming at Naruto's latest prank. Her glare triggered fits of laughter from the boys before Naruto dragged them to the south gate. When Hinata looked at the boys, Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, still not knowing why they were there. When both looked at Naruto he shook his head in a no. Hinata looked at the sun and it was just barely coming up from the mountain. She pulled out her pocket watch and the three kids sighed at the Hinata's time piece. It was five minutes till six, and there was no sign of their teacher.

Naruto stood watching over the clock for three more minutes and it was finally Sasuke who asked. "Why are you staring at the clock?"

"Kakashi-sensei said he would be on time." Both kids sat up at this and stood next to him staring at the clock. The second hand passed over the twelve again and it was down to one more minute.

"You don't really think he will show up on time will you?" Hinata said while staring at the clock.

"I don't know, but if he would stop reading his books you would think he would arrive on time." Sasuke commented. Naruto tapped the clock as it rounded the six.

"What do you think that book is anyway?" Both of his teammates shrugged at each other before they looked back down at the clock. The second hand passed the twelve signaling six o clock. "I knew it." Naruto grounded out in irritation.

"Knew what Naruto?" The three kids all jumped and turned around to find Kakashi watching them with amusement. All three looked back to the clock and sighed. No one saw him arrive on time. "Let's get going, I'll explain when we are a good distance away." Kakashi said seriously. The three genin followed their teacher.

-o-

Tsunade set down her tea and folded her hands in front of her face. "That is the situation. I'll let you deliberate on the next course of action, but I feel that I should stress the need for a quick and responsible decision and not one that I will veto upon seeing it the first time." The elder man and woman nodded and bowed to both Kages before leaving the room.

"Those two…" Tsunade sighed while rubbing her head.

"They are good people Tsunade. You should trust that Homura and Koharu. " Tsunade simply took another sip of tea, she knew she would be drinking it all morning.

-o-

Naruto remained serious for the entire time of their run. Kakashi would have them stop for several moments before picking a new direction. Sasuke recognized the use of a genjustu that he placed behind them. He wondered what it meant but when he thought to raise his voice the tense air from both their sensei and their usually relaxed friend made him hold his tongue. Finally after several changes in directions the four stood on top of a mountain path. Naruto looked out behind them and both Sasuke and Hinata took a seat on the rocks to regain their breath. They both knew that Naruto had been conditioned to handle such long runs, but they also knew that it was also in part because he was a demon container. "This is a dual mission Team Kakashi." All three kids looked at their sensei. "We are to track down a bandit who has been disrupting trade over this route." Kakashi adjusted his mouth mask and looked over to the path ahead of them. "From this point we are to henge into traveling traders and capture the bandit. The second half of this mission is a little more complicated." Kakashi looked at Naruto who nodded his approval. The teacher exhaled. "Right now, there is an S-ranked missing nin who is hunting Naruto." When Hinata gave a confused look on her face Naruto spoke up.

"A missing nin is a person who abandoned their village and is an out law. Kisame's rank is similar to how missions are Ranked." Both Sasuke and Hinata had their breath hitched at the information.

Kakashi gauged both the two inexperienced genins reaction. "This mission is to send us away and make it difficult for the missing-nin Hoshigake Kisame from tracking us. It will also give the village time to prepare to capture and interrogate the man." The group nodded before each placed their hands in identical seals.

The three children looked around for a few moments and nodded to their sensei. Each student was disguised as an adult carrying many heavy bags. The four set out on the long trail as it wound through the country side to the capital of Fire Country.

Several hours passed and the group set down for rest each making a subtle display of their camp site. It was then that Kakahis realized he forgot about something as simple as the problem he now had. Only Sasuke knew how to effectively use genjutsu's. And even then, the young Uchiha did not know how to start this illusion much less maintain it.

"Think you will sleep better now Soki?" Kakashi said with a wide smile. Sasuke looked at his teacher. "I mean you didn't sleep real well last night, your eyes were all red this morning." Naruto and Hinata listened carefully but still went about their business.

Sasuke smiled. "It is nothing I already told you I was just allergic to that food."

"Mah, well I'll be sure to watch what I cook tonight, I guess Boar and chicken are out. But the way you are so picky, I wonder if rat meat will be any better. But I still think anthing is good if there is enough fire." Sasuke gave his teacher a look deciding that he didn't like the way he was being seen as.

"I am sure I can handle what ever you can dish out."

Kakshi smiled while knelt next to the fire that Hinata and Naruto had started. "Thanks for the fire Ruri. Since I won the bet, me and Soki get two servings. Looks like you two will be left out of the good stuff." Naruto gave his teacher a look but just pretended to growl.

When night fell, the four bid each other good night and went into their genjutsu tents. When Sasuke was sure he was ready, he opened his eyes and saw how the genjutsu worked with his Sharingan. It was different from the ones he had seen before as it was all based on nothing. This was opposed to as all the genjutsu's he has done where illusions were focuse on objects or people. After remembering the order of the hand signals his hands went through them. _Boar Rooster Rat_ Sasuke smiled at the last one as it was the same for all fire techniques. _Tiger._ The young boy let the illusion waiver for a half a second before he held it firmly in place. He smiled to himself before Kakashi walked into the tent illusion. "That's good Sasuke. I just had to make sure that both Hinata and Naruto knew that they had no guard duty tonight. I'll sleep for three hours and relieve you. If you have problems are need to raise the alarm just kick my bag." That brought a small smile to Sasuke's lips before he nodded an affirmative. Kakashi looked at the other two teammates and knew he would have to work on their illusionary skills so this kind of problem wouldn't happen on another mission.

-o-

"And that is their decision. While their current mission is not in danger of being breached, Sarutobi and I believe that it would be best to have another Jounin on their mission."

"Hai Hokage-sama. I have already rested and am ready to leave now." The jounin gave the two a toothy grin.

"Then go." The man saluted and disappeared. Sarutobi looked at Tsunade in amusement. "May I ask why you chose him?"

"He is the only none ANBU jounin we have that we can spare." Sarutobi smiled before placing his pipe back in his mouth. Tsunade smiled. "And those two are good friends. I know that they have their sore spots, but they work well together. If the Akastuki do find them, those two could handle Kisame." Sarutobi continued smiling as Tasunade took another cup of tea and drank.

-o-

The ninja group sighed in exasperation. They had arrived at the capital and there was no sign of the bandit. The four were forced to stay a day before heading back out. The rain was coming down as they entered town and Kakashi wanted to show Naruto and Hinata the technique Sasuke used when they slept so they could all participate in guard duty. Sasuke smiled while he lay on his bed and slept. It took a lot of chakra to keep his sharingan on for several hours and maintain an unfamiliar jutsu, but then, he had also said it was good training.

Kakashi gave them some money and the three kids found themselves in the main section of town after the rain broke. "This place is a lot different than the capital of wind country."

Hinata looked at the blonde. "What's different?"

Naruto chuckled while he jumped into a large puddle. "Well there's water here." Hinata shrieked as water hit her legs. She started to walk towards Naruto who laughed and turned to run. The three kids meandered through the towns folk and finally stopped in front of a book store.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows before pointed at the window. "Hey guys look." All three looked at the window and there stood a large display of a book titled 'Icha Icha Paradise III'.

Hinata saw it and grinned. "Now we can know what it is he's reading!" The three kids ran into the store and went around the glass case to the display.

A balding man with a blue shirt spied them and shouted. "Hey! Kids get out of there; those books are for adults only!" All three kids froze. They were inches from touching the books. Hinata was curious enough to where she was tempted to 'borrow' one of the copies but decided against it. The three left the book store empty handed.

Naruto gave a disappointing look before he brightened up. "I figured out what we can do for the rest of the day!" His teammates looked at him as his grinned face turned sinister.

-o-

Kakashi was sitting in his hotel room and chuckling to himself. His newest book Icha Icha Paradise sat comfortably in his hand while his usual Icha Icha Paradise vol I. sat in his jacket. Sasuke walked into the room with a towel around his neck. "Sensei did you want to come with us while we go to the hot springs?" Kakashi looked up from his book and twisted his neck until it popped. He looked back at the book and set it in his pocket. "Sure, just give me a moment." Sasuke nodded and waited outside. Kakashi emerged from his room and looked at Naruto and Sasuke. His face was hiding behind his open book. Both boys looked at him in curiosity now that they both realized they had never seen his face. Kakashi looked at the two. "What happened to Hinata."

Naruto turned red. "I got her mad at me."

Kakashi smiled while the three left the hotel. "What did you do?"

Naruto laughed and Sasuke repressed a chuckle. "I just showed her the difference between the capital of Wind Country and Fire Country." Kakashi looked at him. Naruto just grinned and sand flaked off his cheek. "I think she is still in her room getting the sand out of her clothes." Their sensei chuckled and the three entered the bath house.

Hinata followed the three with her Byakugan until they entered the bath house. She didn't need the distraction about being able to see them inside. She jumped through Kakashi-sensei's window and she carefully shuffled through her teachers things until she found three books. She was surprised that their teacher likes to read so much.

The Hyuuga grabbed the one that matched the book she carried with her. She took off the jacket cover and slid it on her fake book before jumping out of the window and stuffing the book in her room. Now that she had it, she started to think how she could do the next part.

-o-

Naruto had a wet rag on his head and his body submerged up to his chin in hot spring water. He gave out a happy sigh. Kakashi tilted his head towards the entrance and smiled slightly. "NARUTO! SASUKE! GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!" Naruto slipped under water for a second before looking at Sasuke. The Uchiha looked as scared as the blonde felt. "You two are going to pay for that little stunt. Get. OUT. HERE. NOW!"

Kakashi laughed and looked at the boys. "What did you do to her now?"

Naruto gave an anxious laugh. "I kinda left some…"

"YOU TWO BETTER GET OUT HERE NOW OR I AM COMING IN!"

"Told you it wasn't a good idea." Sasuke said from the corner.

"ONE!" Both genin looked at each other before they ran.

"TWO!" Hinata was bright red. She didn't realize how much attention she would be attracting. She prayed that her being red would show that she was angry. She couldn't bring herself to last anymore and ran inside. She poked her head into the men's spa and saw her sensei and promptly epped and turned bright right. Kakashi smiled from under his book and pointed to the direction of over the fence. Hinata ran into the spa and over the fence as fast as she could. Kakashi smiled and went back to reading his new book.

-o-

Hinata was bright red and covered her face with her hands. "I have never been so embarrassed before." Naruto was laughing hysterically and Sasuke exhaled.

"I've never been that scared in my life. You were really convincing Hinata-chan." Hinata, if possible, turned redder.

Naruto recovered and looked at her expectantly. She grinned back and pulled out the book. "I wanted to have us all look together." Naruto and Sasuke huddled close to Hinata who relaxed slightly until they both placed an arm around her to keep themselves from falling off the bed. Hinata gingerly opened the book and the three started reading. Four pages later Sasuke fell back with blood gushing from his nose. Hinata didn't think it was possible to have so much blood in her face. They both looked away from the book and looked at Naruto who hadn't said a word since they opened the book.

Naruto's face was twisted in concentrated look. Finally after taking hold of the book and reading a bit more he finally sighed. Both Hinata and Sasuke were waiting to see what he was going to say. Naruto looked at his friends. "I don't get it." Both children fell flat onto the bed. Sasuke looked at his blonde friend. "I envy you."

"No wait, explain it to me, what is this? Hinata? What's this crevice they keep talking about?" Sasuke was confused slightly by that part too and looked at Hinata who just stay quiet and very red. Naruto finally skipped several pages ahead and finally read or rather saw something he could understand. It was a picture of a very naked woman and suffixes for sounds of moaning.

"Gaah! This is a pervy book!" Naruto looked at his friend expecting them to have the same reaction only to see them look at him with amazement. "What?"

Hinata finally said, "But does that mean he is reading this stuff all the time? I mean he has four different books with him. Are they all pervy books?" She looked downcast.

Sasuke looked at the book. "So our teacher is a pervert."

Naruto looked at the book and his eyes began to tear up childishly. He looked at the sky and said, "Our teacher is a pervert."

-o-

Kakashi entered Hinata's hotel room and knew something was wrong. He knocked on the open door and looked in. "Is everything alright in here?" An orange book flew at his face. He caught it and gave a slight chuckle noise at being discovered. "Are you all upset?" He rounded the corner of the small hallway and saw all three children glaring at him.

"Sensei we lost faith in you!" Naruto shouted while pointing at him.

Sasuke gave a hmph in scorn and Hinata couldn't look at him. After a moment Kakashi brightened. "So whose idea was it to pull off such a good distraction?" All three kids pointed at each other. Kakashi smiled. "It was very good. I didn't even think of anything else but the boys impending doom." His only showing eye turned up in a smile. The three smiled slightly but Naruto caught himself and hmphed. "Come on team. Ramen. On me." Where Sasuke and Hinata were finally able to look at their sensei, Naruto looked at him with joy.

"Ramen!" Naruto grabbed his teammates hands and dragged them out of the door following their teacher not noticing the half hearted irritated looks they gave him.

-o-

Naruto led the group under a henge through the route. He was running off of a full stomach of ramen and was feeling good that he was able to convince his team that ramen was a decent breakfast. Kakashi exchanged amused glances Hinata and Sasuke. It was four hours until they found a single man standing in the center of the road. Naruto was about to open his mouth to ask the man a question as they approached him. They saw the man charge them with a sword in hand. Naruto looked at the man and ran back to the group. He still kept his disguise on and looked at his teammates who both moved forward. Several kicks and punches later Sasuke melted the sword with a fire jutsu, and Hinata was satisfied that the man would not wake for the remainder of the day thanks to her yet unnamed fighting style. Kakashi looked at the two genin and nodded at their work. "How was he compared to ninja?"

Sasuke looked at the man and thought about how he fought. "He was fast. He was experienced with the sword. It is only because of my sharingan that I was able to avoid getting cut." Kakashi nodded before looking at Hinata.

"Um, he lacked the chakra needed to perform jutsu, but even so… He could have been dangerous to anyone who was not familiar with how ninja worked. He was able to make several attempts to misdirect us and leave openings for us to be counter attacked."

Kakashi smiled and nodded at their assessment. "Good." He looked at Naruto and smiled at the young boy. "Good call there Naruto. These two need this kind of experience." Naruto smiled. The blonde turned to the unconscious man and sand wrapped around him. It lifted him and the unconscious bandit began to follow the group as they headed their way back to konoha.

The group had just passed an ANBU check point where Kakashi notified the ANBU soldier to go ahead and notify that Team Kakashi was heading home. The man was gone quickly and Kakashi looked around still anxious until they were safely back in Konoha. Suddenly Sasuke stopped. He felt a cold sweat roll of his forehead. "We have been by here before." Naruto saw a small mound of sand. He looked back at the man he was carrying and nodded.

"My sand wouldn't have fallen off on the way up here. It was solid the whole time. It must have loosened while I was carrying this guy." Kakashi already had his headband up and looking around with his Sharingan. Sasuke followed him.

It was Hinata that noticed it first. "Get out of the way!" The ground below them glowed for a moment before it disappeared. Naruto stood on a tree and saw that his team made it as well. He gasped when he had forgotten about the bandit. The man's body was sandblasted from the explosion. Naruto recognized a dead body when he saw it.

Naruto looked around and recognized that laugh. "Kisame where are you?" Mist rolled into the area unnaturally fast. Naruto gave an old swear that Gaara would have reprimanded him for.

Sasuke looked around and felt comfort that Hinata was next to him. Her Byakugan was searching through the fog. "I can't see. It's too thick." She whispered to him. Sasuke nodded before he pulled her out of the way of a kunai that flew over her head. Sasuke looked at the Kunai and realized that it was not meant to hit him. His sharingan eyes looked around. Several hand seals and he moved his mouth to the sky. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu" A large fire ball flew through the air and dissipated some of the fog. Sasuke and Hinata ran into the remaining fog knowing that if the technique didn't wipe out the entire jutsu they would just make themselves a target.

Kakashi looked around carefully. He could sense his students and was worried, although he was sad to admit he was more worried about Sasuke and Hinata. The Jounin turned around with kunai in hand and deflected another kunai. A man in black robes with red clouds stood in front of him wearing a bamboo hat. "You are a member of the Akastuki?"

"You presume much Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi felt a moment of surprise before he calmed himself.

He may not have been able to recognize the man's hidden face and eyes, but he knew that voice as it was one of the few that were ingrained in his heart. His greatest failure. "Uchiha Itachi. Why have you shown up now?" Kakashi thought of his students. From the reports, he had assumed that there would be only one Akastuki sent. It was a potentially fatal error.

"I am here to see." Kakashi closed his only normal eye and started back at the man. "My brother truly showed his potential. To come this far so soon."

"He will surpass you. I don't even think I know how far he can go. He is free of your taint Itachi. There is nothing that clouds his judgment."

Itachi pause the movement of his hand that would complete a jutsu. It was interesting that his brother could do anything other than think of avenging the Uchiha clan. Itachi made sure to ingrain it into his little brother before leaving the accursed village. Kakashi stared at the man as the fog began to break slightly. "I wasn't there to witness when, but he was saved by his friends. Even right now, they are saving him. And he is saving them. You only serve to make him stronger." Itachi smiled at the words. He turned to leave. He paused for a second before raising his left hand towards Kakashi.

"It would be rude to not leave a parting gift."

-o-

Naruto saw the kunai fly at his friends but was relived when they avoided it. "Kisame!"

The shark man chuckled and thinned the mist. "Can you find me now Naruto-chan?"

Naruto growled. Sand burst from his body when a sword fell to deliver a strike. Kisame grinned next to him. "I am disappointed. You didn't remember." Naruto's sand began to crumble from the sudden drain of chakra that the sword was creating. Suddenly Naruto turned into sand and fell into a small pile. Kisame jumped into the air in time to see sand miss gripping his feet. Kisame whistled. "That was good."

Naruto felt frustrated. He didn't think he would have to show this to his friends so soon. "I am sorry." Red chakra enveloped his body. Sand wrapped around him and the red chakra began to scorch the sand black. The mist was blow away from the sudden chakra mass that enveloped Naruto. Sasuke and Hinata looked over to the light and were shocked to see Naruto half crouched. His body was enveloped in a kind of bubble of red chakra. It was only as it took the shape of an animal with long eats and a single tail that they realized it was the Kyuubi's chakra. The both saw Naruto's blood red eyes and Naruto tried not to study their looks. He focused on Kisame. One hand rose up and a red chakra hand flew towards the Akatsuki member. Kisame dodged instinctively knowing he would not want to absorb that chakra. Kisame increased his speed and appeared in front of Naruto.

Kisame's sword delivered a powerful blow that lifted Naruto off his feet. Blood splattered Naruto's clothes while the long gash across Naruto's stomach mended in mid air. Naruto's chakra tail helped him gain balance and he landed on his legs. Kisame looked at his sword and put it away. It would be useless in this fight. Kisame went through several hand seals and a jet of water erupted form mid air draining the mist from the air. Naruto was again thrown off his fed and through several trees before stopping and standing his ground through the remainder of the jutsu. Naruto wiped blood from his mouth. In spite of the armor and the chakra skin, he could not feel his left arm. It was completely numb and likely broken in several places. He flung it out and felt the bones mend. Kisame rushed the boy and kicked him into the air. Several clones appeared in the air and Naruto was surprised that each one delivered a powerful punch, juggling him in the air. Angrily a chakra limb hit one of the clones only to find it turn into water.

Naruto growled before he finally crashed into the ground. He stood up unsteadily and felt exhausted even though he lasted in the Kyuubi state for longer. Kisame's attack became more brutal since he summoned the Kyuubi's power. Just surviving those hits made him exhausted. Naruto gathered himself for one more defense. He couldn't think of a counter attack. He saw chakra infused water blast at him in the same technique Kisame first used on him a year ago. Naruto smiled slightly at the thought. There was a black blur and the water exploded in front of him. Naruto felt the Kyuubi chakra recede and he felt his body lay helplessly on the ground. Naruto raised his head to see a man in deep forest green suit and black trimmed hair. His powerful jaw turned upwards him.

"You may rest now spirited Genin. The beautiful beast of Konoha has arrived." Maito Gai smiled with perfect teeth. "It is customary to identify yourself when someone makes introductions."

Kisame gave a feral grin. "My name is Hoshigake Kisame." Maito Gai smiled widely and dashed towards the swordsman. Naruto's last thought before passing out was, _This_ _guy is really cool._

-o-

Kakashi poofed into nothing when Itachi pointed at him. Itachi felt a kunai against his throat. "You will not take Naruto, or corrupt Sasuke." Itachi gave a 'heh'.

"What makes you think I have not already done that?" Kakashi was forced to refocus on Hinata and Sasuke. The man felt a stabbing pain in his side for his trouble. Sasuke ran towards his teacher and the strange man. His single coma sharingan reinforced the knowledge that the opponent he was running towards was very strong, but knew there wasn't much else he could do. He was suddenly aware that Hinata was right behind him but had no time to say anything. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and jumped into the air to attack from above. The black robed man threw his teacher at him. Sasuke was forced to catch the injured jounin.

At the moment that her sensei was obstructing the enemy's view, Hinata put a burst of speed and moved along the ground and kicked the man from below. The Akastuki member blocked the blow with his leg but felt something burn along his chakra system. The sensation of a hundred hammers hit his leg. Itatchi glared his sharingan at the girl below him.

Hinata was fortunate that she was not looking at the man but rather his chakra system. It saved her from several genjutsu's Itachi tried to ensnare in. Hinata thrust a hand forward and several pulses of chakra burst from her hands. Itachi never saw something like it and quickly tried to gain some distance. The mili-seconds in contact with those dangerous hands and feet cause large amounts of swelling and Itachi looked at his bare arm. A bruise was swelled so much it began to bleed. For that he decided the girl would die. He looked to her and realized she was gone. He turned to his right and heard. "I am on your left you idiot." Hinata was several feet away from him but her hands sent long narrow pulses of chakra. Itachi was forced to block with is kunai when he saw Some one coming in on his right to fight Kisame and his little brother charging him from behind.

Itachi was about to direct himself to his brother when he felt the stings of those chakra bullets he thought he deflected seep through the kunai and pass into his chakra system. He recognized that those burst were focusing on his system when he saw the girls' eyes. Itachi threw a kunai at his brother only to see it caught in mid air and thrown back at him. He smiled when he saw his little brother perform a high power fire jutsu. But that smile faded when he saw that there were wires holding him to the ground. He almost swore when he saw several thin wires grow taut around his body. Itachi realized when he looked to his right, he should not have looked away to the girls' taunt. He did not see his brother attach slack wires to his legs. Itachi braced himself for a fire jutsu. It covered his body and burned away most of his clothes. The bamboo hat flew off his head and when the first began to fade, he felt hundreds of bursts in his chakra system and knew his sharingan failed to remain active. It would be the first time in years his eyes would see in the same way he was born into. Itachi snapped several wires and looked to his brother. The boy was panting along with the dangerous girl.

When Sasuke looked up he felt several kinds of terrors. Fear gripped him and memories that he thought he dealt with long ago were brought back in full force. Itachi studied his brother. It was just enough for his brother to see him again. "You have grown strong Sasuke." Itachi heard a shout and already understood they needed to retreat. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Hakate Kakashi was standing and Kisame was fighting another jounin he recognized. Itachi smirked at his little brother. He felt enough chakra in his hand and activated a fear jutsu. "See you soon little brother." Itachi disappeared along with Kisame.

Gai looked at their retreating backs and ran to Kakashi. "My eternal rival, are you not damage? I knew your flames would not extinguish from such a fight." Kakashi was in more shock that Gai was there. He held his hand to his side and kept the kunai embedded in his side to plug the wound.

"Gai get Naruto, I'll check on these two." Hinata and Sasuke were still stuttering from the fear stimuli Itatchi used.

Kakashi winced in pain from the kunai and said softly, "It's ok. Come back to us Hinata, Sasuke. You still have friends who care for you. The world is not over, and your worst nightmares have not come true. You are alive." Hinata began to respond. Her eyes began to slow their tears. Kakashi lowered his headband back over his eye. "Hinata please look at me. Naruto and Sasuke are both safe and alive. Your family is safe in Konoha, and you have just had a rough mission. Please look at me." Hinata slowly blinked and began to shake but nodded at her teacher. She tried to stand but fell back over again. "It's ok Hinata, just rest." She nodded and let herself lay down.

Kakashi looked over to Sasuke. In a sterner voice, the jounin said. "Sasuke. You fought him. You fought your brother. All you see right now are just memories. You know they are already dead." Sasuke whimpered with blank eyes. Kakashi's voice softened. "But Hinata and Naruto are fine. Look to your left." Sasuke followed the sound of the commanding voice. The Uchiha gave a relived sob before loosing balance and falling onto Hinata. He gripped her and just cried in relief. Kakashi patted the boys head. "We are all alive. You both did an amazing job today. Rest." Within moments both genin were asleep from exhaustion.

Team sevens instructor looked up in time to see ANBU and medical ninja arrive. Several were afraid when they felt the Kyuubi Chakra but when they saw the boy passed out and stained blood on his shirtless torso they immediately checked on him. Kakashi smiled slightly. Trust a medical ninja to not worry about social taboos.

-o-

Naruto stayed silent in his bed while the doctor said he could be signed out. When the doctor left he dress with some clothes that his teacher sent for him. He looked out the window and smiled slightly. That man and Kakashi were standing on a roof watching his room. He waved to them and they waved back. Naruto left his room. Two chuunins nodded to the boy before they left now that their duty was fulfilled. Naruto looked around and saw Hinata's name and Sasuke's name. He was surprised they shared the same room, not too much when he saw that the room was a wing. It held twelve beds and both of theirs were next to the door. Naruto moved the curtain and saw that both of them were sleeping. He lowered his gaze. It is a hard blow for him to know that these two were placed in danger because of him. Unsure if they could hear him he felt he needed to say something now or he would never do it.

"Sasuke, Hinata…" He looked away from their sleeping forms. "Look, I know it was unfair to keep something like this from you until we were on the mission, and I heard you two did good even though you are in here…" Naruto shuffled his feet still trying to find the right words. "This thing." Naruto patted his stomach. "It's apart of me. Those guys are apart of my life. I am the demon container for Kyuubi. I use his powers to stay alive. I use my own power to be a ninja. There will always be guys like that no matter where I go or how I live. I don't want you to have to accept it, just know it…" Naruto rubbed his neck. Finally he looked at their sleeping bodies. "This is who I am." Naruto left now that he felt he said all he needed to say. Ten minutes past and Hinata rose up from her bed. She ached all over but ignored it.

"Did you hear it all Sasuke?"

Sasuke still felt shivers from his encounter with his brother. He put them aside and thought of how he saw Naruto using the Kyuubi power. "Every word."

"We may be genin team seven, but we are also friends."

"Yeah we are. We just have to remind him that every chance we get." Sasuke finally let himself relax gain and he was asleep. Hinata smiled at the boy and looked at the door Naruto left out of. She murmured his name before deciding she needed to rest too.

-o-

Naruto stared at the half rolled scroll that Temari never intended to send. He wondered about it since Gaara told him she had tried and failed to send him something. Naruto felt guilty. He never thought of writing to none of the siblings. Finally he opened the letter and read.

_Hey Naruto._ _It's Temari. I don't know if I'll ever send you this, but I just wanted to say I, well I miss you. You are a good friend. You think of your friends before yourself. I miss how you can be so up beat even when you have so many troubles. And when I had a bad day, you didn't even need to try and cheer me up. You just talked for a few seconds and I was smiling again. Write me. Oh and thank you for the pillow. I never did tell you that. _

_Lots of hugs Temari_

A grin split Naruto's face. He couldn't help it. Everything that he did with Temari from kissing her to making her turn red came back. Every fond memory rolled over the boy. He read the letter several times before he left Sasuke's home, his home. He laughed and ran through the town. He arrived at the hospital again. Sasuke and Hinata were in there for several days, but it would be several more before they were able to leave. Naruto waved at the lady at the front desk wrote his name at the clip board in front and ran up the stairs towards his friends' wing. The smiled at him, and were immediately relieved at Naruto's mood. He slowly tumbled everything he experienced when he was at the village hidden in the sands. Sasuke and Hinata listened and slowly began to understand the enormity of the jobs Naruto completed with out the blonde himself understanding how important those jobs were. Finally Naruto ended the story with Temari's kiss and the letter. Hinata gave him a look. It reminded him of when Temari didn't approve of something. But it didn't last long. There was a knock at the door and Naruto turned to see the man in green.

"OH! Cool green guy man!"

Miato Gai smiled radiantly. "Ah the students of my rival Kakashi. I just wanted to see how you were all doing. But seeing how Uzumaki Naruto is fully recovered, I can say his fires of youth burn brightly."

Naruto smiled at him and flexed his arm. "I am as bright as the sun!" He shouted. Hinata giggled and Sasuke smiled. It was the first real laugh they had got from their stay at the hospital. Gai looked at the two and smiled.

"Your passionate nature saw you through such trails. And to be so honest with yourself and others like the way you did when the medic ninjas arrived makes me envious young man." Gai smiled proudly at Sasuke. Sasuke reddened but nodded his thanks. Hinata looked at the man unsure what he would say to her.

"And here is the angel of your team. No doubt your abilities rival those of the strongest of ninja's." Hinata blushed and smiled.

Kakashi looked at the group around his book and murmured out. "Flatterer."

Naruto saw Kakashi and screamed. "You are still reading that pervy book!" Kakashi looked at him with a hint of bemusement.

"What made you think I would stop reading it?" Naruto glared at his teacher.

"Gai! Can you be out sensei! I bet you are a better teacher than Kakashi-sensei. You are soo cool!"

Hinata smiled and looked at Sasuke. Hinata shouted out. "Yes! Please be out new sensei you are amazing!"

Sasuke laughed to himself. "You are my hero Gai-sensei!" Gai laughed loudly he told them repeatedly he could not be their teacher and only gave them tips to be as hip as he was. Kakashi looked at his team with annoyance. _Ingrates._

-o-

Kisame set his sword down and thought back to the week's events. "This has been very interesting week. When the time comes, I look forward to fighting Naruto and Miato Gai again." Itachi remained silent while he replaced his bandages. "Aww what's wrong Itachi, you have been quiet for ages."

Itachi glared at his partner. But the shark man did not back down. "I am frustrated Kisame."

Kisame looked at his acquaintance. Itachi growled out, "I have found someone I need to kill before they get too dangerous but find my self unable to do so."

Kisame looked at Itachi and thought about it. "Not your brother, his little girlfriend?"

Itachi scowled more. "That is as close of an approximation that you will get for his age. I looked into my brother's soul. What I saw frustrated and amazed me." Kisame sat still. He liked listening to Itachi when he explained how he sees. "I didn't just felt it, I didn't just see it. I knew my brothers' future. I can see him as a full grown man. He is well beyond what I can see myself becoming. But to have my brother become that man, I need to have that girl with her dangerous fighting become the woman she is meant to be."

Kisame was still confused. "What they fall in love or something." Itachi shook his head.

"It's more than that. We though that Naruto supposedly saved my brother and made him stronger. But that isn't true, Uzumaki Naruto may have been the trigger, but the girl was the source. The girl is so essential to who my brother is, and who he will become, that if I kill her now, I will never see the true form of the Sharingan. I will never see the white wheel."

Kisame wondered at that but remained silent while his partner continued to bandage himself.

-o-

Naruto stood in front of the two Hokages with his team. A month passed since their dual mission. The C-ranked one was a success, and the both Hokages deemed that the run in with the two Akastuki members was a completed S-ranked mission just by their survival. The group looked at a very serious Tsunade and a very grim Sarutobi. The Sandaime finally started the meeting. "Due to the nature of the extreme situation your team finds itself in, and your own determination to remain together." Hinata smiled widely. It was not hard to convince her father to stay on team seven, but they elders of the clan were very upset that she took on the equivalent of an s rank mission as a genin. "We have decided to send you on an extended mission to ensure that you are all at a sufficient level where such circumstances like your previous mission are ones you can survive. As a result Team seven will be placed on Fire Country Diamyou security detail for the foreseeable future. When your teacher, Hakate Kakashi determines you are prepared, you will return to Konoha and demonstrate your abilities to reinsure us and the council of elders that you are able to sufficiently protect yourselves and others from the threats that target you."

Sasuke and Hinata were glaring at the orders, Kakashi was thought he should do a few things before leaving. Naruto stayed quiet for a moment. When he opened his mouth Hinata interrupted him. "The orders mean we go away until we are strong enough to handle those guys that we fought with out jounin help." Naruto tilted his head in understanding and nodded.

"That's good. If we are strong enough, we don't have to worry about them at all." Sasuke and Hinata gave a helpless laugh.

Tsunade smiled. "You are all to leave tomorrow at noon. Security detail at the capital is expecting you there in two days at night fall." Kakashi turned and left with his team following him. As the door closed Hinata gave a frustrated growl.

"Those bastards."

Sasuke smiled at her. "It's going to be ok. We'll just show them that they can't get rid of us that easily. Right Naruto?"

Naruto nodded.

-o-

Sasuke pulled his back over his back. "Naruto I am going ahead. I'll get Hinata and meet you at the south gate." Naruto just hmm'ed while looking at the blank scroll. Finally he sighed and started writing.

_Temari, its Naruto. It was great to read a letter from you. Seeing some part of you, even if it's just writing, brought back all the good times I had there. I miss them. I am going away on a long mission. I don't know when I'll get back but I'll write as soon as I get back. Thanks for reminding me that there is more to my life than just Konoha. _

_Tell Gaara and Kankuro I am having fun and am doing good. I think I found a guy who's really cool and so much has happened. I don't have much time left to write. We are about to leave for my mission now. _

_Long hug Temari-chan and a kiss on the cheek. _

- - - Chapter 10 Memory - - -

A/N Chaa I am almost sorry it took me so long to write this. I wrote the entire chapter in a single session that started last night at 8pm and it's almost 3am right now. I should probably sleep I have work in about eight hours. If and when you find bad errors please place where you saw them in your review. I'll make the corrections after work later in the afternoon.

10/8/06 edit. Fixed some things I didn't catch when I wrote this. Just a note to answer a comment, I was referring to available jounins that were physically in Konoha not just 5 total jounins in their village. I added that small fix into there. Thanks for pointing it out.


	11. Chapter 11 Leaders

Chapter 11 Leaders

Gaara sat on the top of the Kazekage tower knowing that his teammates could not reach him. The sand storm blew over the city and Gaara enjoyed the sting that originated from the sand as it beat against his face. In the back of his mind Naturo's last letter repeated itself. After deciding there wasn't anything to do about it, it was not like Naruto was asking permission, Gaara thought about his impending situation. Gaara squinted his eyes slightly and gave a mew of disappointment that the sand storm was residing. It would mean he would have to justify his position about the team, and its ultimate future. Gaara stood as the last remnants of air blew the sand up the tower. The gourd that sat next to him burst into sand and it formed into steps that shifted with every clack of Gaara's shoes.

Rina, Tsumi and Sosan waited at their team spot silently wondering how they were going to convince the boy that he should go along with them. Sosan scratched his head, murmuring about actually waiting outside in the storm. Both girls giggled. "Something funny Team Gaara?" The three snapped to attention while Gaara walked passed them to his spot where he had always laid out their missions before heading out of town. There was a sound of 'no sir' and one 'shishou-chan'. Gaara glared at Tsumi. "This will be your second chuunin exam. And I expect all of you to come back alive." The three looked as if they wanted to continue the argument that was cut off by the storm. Finally Gaara exhaled before he asked. "Any questions?"

Immediately Tsumi and Rina asked, "Why can't you come too?"

Gaara smiled slightly. "There are a few reasons, one is the test is a three man team test. I won't take the test before one of you, especially when you three are qualified to be promoted. Another is I can't go as the role of instructor since I am not a jounin. And lastly… well, I just don't want to go to Cloud Village. It's too far and rainy."

The three just scowled at him. "But if one of us passes, we want you to be there to see it at least." Gaara scowled at them but nodded at their complaint.

"I'll be there for the finals, if one of you makes it. If not I'll be here to great you." The three smiled slightly. "You leave for Cloud Village tomorrow at dawn. Baki-san has agreed to over see you as your instructor, although you will still be identified as Team Gaara. Dismissed." The group on the command disappeared in front of him before he issued training exercises. The red haired glared at the ground disappointed. The Gaara knew he was getting worked up over something that made no real difference in the long run. If there was one thing that he and his father cared about, it was the well being of the village. Gaara understood he would make a splendid show case for the village. But the impact would only be a selling point for those dignitaries who will be in traveling distance of the village. There was no point in showing off the village in a place as distant and backwater as the Cloud village.

Gaara watched the group go the next day before turning his back on sand dunes and into his home. Inside the house Gaara looked at his blonde sister who was attaching the paper to her fan. The girl had the fan open wide and slowly moved her palm along the paper as it was attaching itself to the frame. Gaara noticed the faint signs of chakra use and used that as a cue not to disturb her. The next room he saw Kankuro in much the same position as Temari. The brown headed boy shuffled through crafting materials and unconsciously flexing newly made puppet hands. Gaara walked passed him knowing that now would have been the time he would be training with his team. Gaara finally arrived at his room and laid down on the bed suddenly disturbed at how much he relied on them to keep him occupied. He had wondered if this is what Temari went through when Naruto left. Gaara sat up again and walked down the hall intent on leaving the house. He absently waved to his brother and only at his sisters' call did he say, "I was supposed to submit my report on Team Gaara for consideration of Chunnin. I'll be a while."

Temari looked thoughtful at that. It was a wordy way of saying he was going to meet their father.

-o-

It was not often that he spoke to his father, but the number of times where Gaara felt animosity to his creator had decreased over the past few years. It was just a simple fact that he had to accept. He was a threat to the village. Gaara nodded to the two guards at the doors before letting himself in. He knew that his father would only be doing paper work at this time of the day.

Gaara saluted to the Kazekage before returning to his at ease stance. "What do I owe this visitation?" Gaara marginally relaxed when he saw the man was not wearing his hat. It was easier to see his father as a man instead as the Kazekage.

"With my team on mission to participate in the Chuunin exams, I find myself with open time. Is there a secondary mission you need to be fulfilled?"

The older man paused before setting down his papers. "I would be doing a disservice if I had you on a mission before you need to head out for Lightning country to see the finals with me." Gaara looked up at that. "It has finally been decided that I will be attending the finals. I will need security detail." Gaara nodded at the unsaid request. "Is your report ready for review?" The young sand ninja nodded. After several moments of shuffling through paper work Gaara looked up at the sound of a paper stack hitting the desk. "Your team is good Gaara."

When no more was forth coming Gaara realized what he really said. "It is too good."

The Kazekage nodded. "Your entire team consists of genin who have out grown their rank. I would pass them all as Chunnin if it wasn't for your insistence that they actually participate in a public exam."

Gaara nodded. "There is still a problem in their mind set of what is enemy and what is inconsequential." Gaara paused a moment while he tried to find the right words. Finally he looked past his father unfocused. "I would recommend Taoen Sosan for recruitment into the elite ops, if it weren't for the fact that on mission or off, he still sees enemies as enemies. He can't do that as a higher ranking shinobi. He needs to learn for himself that there are only enemies as our mission's conflict with others." The father grunted in understanding before turning a page.

The picture was of a blonde teenager eight years older than Gaara. "What is the hesitation of Encha Tsumi? I heard from Muno's reports that he had noticed great improvement on her ability to maintain focus during their combat exercises."

Gaara spoke before he thought. "Fathers are known for praising their children." Gaara felt his cheeks reddened and bowed his head. Moments passed while Gaara quickly tried to think of something to follow up to that. He was about to say an apology before he heard his father speak.

"I suppose so. From your report, she can easily lead a team, even if she does not show the focus we expect from shinobi of a higher rank."

"With this team? Yes. I don't believe a team outside our team will take her seriously during a critical mission. While her attitude isn't something I discourage, she knows it's not appropriate to 'giggle' during a reconnaissance mission." Gaara finally looked up and noticed a twinge of a smile come from his father before it was hidden among the pile of papers in front of him. Finally the Kazekage looked at the last team member.

"Komosubi Rina. Of the group I expected her to be the first for recommendation. The reports leading up till their tragic mission had her as the leader of the three man team." Gaara's father stared right into the boys eyes.

Gaara looked right back and added confidently, "Chuunin rank reflects a person's ability to lead a team in and out of dire situations. It is my opinion that she _is_ the most prepared for Chuunin, but her experiences on the team's first S rank mission retarded her growth. She is not afraid to make hard decisions; rather, she will wallow in regret later. With out being able to let go, she will fall apart. I have seen it enough times from her after a rough training session or an unexpected mission. It does not affect her performance now, but it will later on." Gaara flexed his fingers thinking of his own regrets. It was one of the rare times he did so.

"Gaara, we are sending only your team to the east Chuunin exam. I have every confidence that they will make it to the finals. Are these the only concerns we need to look for." Gaara nodded still shaking off his anxiety for his teams. While he did not want to break up the team he knew what was coming next. "Provided that any one passes Team Gaara will become a three man team with one former member passed on to a Chuunin team. If you are feeling as if you need to relieve some tension, you may go ahead of our route." The Kazekage pulled out a scroll tied with a red knot. He tossed it to Gaara.

Sand reached out and took the scroll out of mid air before Gaara bowed. Before the boy left, the Kazekage cleared his throat. "If you feel you need company, Kankuro and Temari are looking for an excuse to attend this season's chuunin exam. I believe your scouting mission will do well for their training." Gaara smiled and bowed again.

Gaara sprinted out of the building. The grin would not leave his face as he entered the home of the sand siblings. "Kankuro! Temari!" Both kids came down the stairs and looked at the smiling red head. "Pack your bags, we are going on a trip." Both Temari and Kankuro looked at the youngest brother confused as he ran up the stairs past them. Gaara ran into his room and poked his head back out. "And bring some gear, father wanted you two to have some training exercise while we are on the road." Seconds later both Kankuro and Temari ran into their rooms leaving loud crashing sounds through out the house.

-o-

Sosan concentrated on his breathing. IT was finally lulling him to sleep. The group would arrive in the Lightening Country's first town by the tomorrow night. He knew the group needed rest, and their jounin escort had taken off for go knows what reason. "Baki-san said for us to get some rest Rina. We should do it." Sosan closed his eyes and sighed at the cool brush of air that went through the camp. After a several moments of silence there was giggling and Sosan's blurry red eyes glared at the two girls. The glare faded after he saw the girls huddled over something next to the fire. Finally breaking down, Sosan asked, "What are you two doing?"

Tsumi giggled before she whispered something to Rina who finally laughed. Having enough of being ignored Sosan stood and walked up behind the two girls. After seeing what they ere laughing at he shouted, "Will you two stop that!" On the ground the girls had drawn a small figure with hair matching Sosan's with a pair of x for eyes. Above him was a smaller figure with a familiar looking gourd on his back.

"Why are you drawing that now?" The girls giggled before they ran through a few hand seals. Wind picked up and ran across several trees carving the picture into layers of bark. When the two girls were done, they jumped in joy. From any angle other than the one they stood from, the image looked like a lot of trees were just scrapped. But Sosan sighed from behind them. He saw the perfect copy of their drawing by the fire. Added on the bottom was 'Shishou-chan wins!'

"We are leaving it here for Gaara-sama. I know he'll see it." Rina said.

"Do you think he will like it Sosan?" The teenager in question just glared at the bubbly Tsumi.

"If he doesn't, we are running laps after the exam." Both girls stopped laughing instantly. They both glared at the kill joy.

"That's not even funny." They said in unison.

-o-

Gaara had always wondered what it would be like to be on the same team as his brother and sister. He envisioned that they would all have fun, and it be much like how it was when they had dinner or go to play a game. "Temari stop it! This is my side. Stay on your side." Gaara half lowered his eye lids in annoyance. The two have been bickering three days into their scouting mission and this was their first real stop. "Kankuro, go oil your stuff somewhere else, this is my corner." What Gaara had forgotten was that it was never, ever a good idea to keep them all together in a tight space for an extended period of time. "You started it. I know it smells bad, but I got used to it in a few hours."

Gaara simply stood up and left. Outside the air was getting to be frigid and the open plains with tall yellow grass moved in waves as gusts of air pressed over the ground. Gaara unclasped his gourd and let all of his sand fall to the ground. It was rare for him to feel so light, and he thought back to the letter he had received from Naruto. When Gaara stretched and stood in a small level clearing, he moved his hands to his left and slowly moved over the kata's that he barely remembered from the academy. His body moved differently with out the counter weight of his sand on his back. There was no sand around his feet. He consciously told it to stay in a pile a few yards away. Gaara moved his feet quickly realizing how truly limiting it would be to consciously keep his sand away from him. After a moment of thinking of his friend he heard his sister screech. Gaara shook his head and the sand formed along his back into a gourd. He walked inside the small hut and nodded to himself. He could understand Naruto's dilemma.

The next day the group walked down the main path towards lightning country. There was no point in moving fast but Gaara knew he was supposed to make a training session of the trip. That was why he smiled at his two siblings moaning. Gaara looked below him and saw two pairs of eyes glare back up at him. "Guys its not that heavy. I carry this around with me all the time." Gaara tapped his toe to the large rectangle of sand he was sitting on.

Kankuro grunted out. "It would be easier on us if you didn't have to _sit_ on the sand bar."

Gaara nodded at that, eerily looking like his friend Naruto. "But that doesn't mean I don't have to. Don't worry guys we can rest when we hit the river." Temari and Kankuro sighed glad that they were almost done. Another swimming trip would be just what they needed. Gaara smiled at them while he laid back onto the sand tablet. A half hour later they found the tree line that started just outside of lightning country. Gaara let them stop to give their arms a rest. It was here that the group smelled a fire. "It's a little early for a camp fire." Temari said to the smell.

Gaara nodded before he though to of something. "Guys stay in the trees, I will be right back I want to take a look before we move on."

Temari gave a huff but nodded before dragging her middle brother into the trees. Gaara let the sand form into a his gourd and took off in a sprint.

Kankuro sighed while watching his little brother disappear from their view. "Think its anything?" Kankuro stretched his arms glad to be rid of the extra weight the sand had placed on his shoulders.

"Probably not, Gaara said his team went a head of us, and they would likely notice something."

Kankuro shook his head. "They went straight through I doubt they would have time to slow down and see what's going on. Besides, dad wanted Gaara to do it. So maybe dad just wants the placed tho-rough-ly- checked?" Kankuro ran out of steam.

Temari just laughed. "You forgot what you were trying to say didn't you?" Kankuro just pouted. Temari dangled her feet off a branch and sighed. "Well I don't think we will see anything. This is a training exercise for us to. My Genin exam is going to come up before I know it. And I'll be ready."

Kankuro was about to say something before he heard several people down the road approaching them. Temari nodded and they both moved higher into the trees.

Temari watched the group and narrowed her eyes. A group of people were tied at the wrists with guards spread out the length of the human line. Kankuro glanced up at Temari but she shook her head. As the first of the group was below them Temari knew this wasn't a line of criminals. It looked like a small village was being moved. Temari gasped when a hand reached at her only to see Kankuro pull her off the branch. Temari turned in time to hear the thunk of kunai imbedding themselves into the branch.

"Whoa hey! We are just waiting for our brother!" Shouted Kankuro.

The guard who threw the kunai saw the children and shouted. "Buni, Tomo, get them." Temari grabbed her fan from her back and twisted her body to see the two guards that revealed themselves to be ninja. "Kamaitatchi!" wind blew from her fan breaking apart the trees. Kankuro saw the ninja go around the debri and smiled when they stopped. Both ninja moved to go after them only to loose their footing and began to fall from their trees. Kankuro released his chakra strings and both children ran as fast as they could.

"Buni you go after them, Tomo, erase our presence. We'll keep moving." The man Buni disappeared and Tomo ran through hand seals before the trees looked as if they returned to their original state. "Let's get out of here, before who ever was with them returns."

-o-

"Crap we are going in the opposite direction of Gaara." Temari growled before the two saw a river ahead of them.

Kankruo smirked at his sister before he sped up already feeling who ever was chasing after them catch up. The two turned around and lead their trail up away from the river. They both made their stand and Kankuro twisted his hands and several kunai were produced from his sleeves with exploding tags already attached. "We have to swim for a while to loose their trail."

"What about Gaara?"

"He'll find us." Kankuro shouted confidently. "Give us some more cover." Kankuro tossed his kunai. Temari understood and propelled the knives through the air. The resounding explosion uprooted trees and the winds split the trunks and burst soil into a fine dust fog. Temari returned her fan to her back with a resounding clack before they were both gone, satisfied that they effectively eliminate their trail and stopping their pursuers. The two dove into the water as they felt the cloud of dirt begin to settle behind them. The man ran out of the flying explosion before turning back to the children's trail. The center of the explosion had no trees and twenty meters of forest were cut down. The man whistled before turning back. They got away.

-o-

While he had been in a forest a few times before, it still made him weary of not being able to see all around him with out the trees obstructing his view. Gaara came to a stop in front of a wide clearing used for rice patties. Below the slope were a small village and people running in line towards the river. Gaara ran down the hill recognizing the efforts to put out a fire. He stopped before he entered the village realizing people wouldn't bother talking to a child. His sand wrapped around him and gave himself several inches of height and slightly older features. The new teen ran up to the line. "Do you need assistance?" The villager passed another bucket.

"Yes, get in line, the mill is on fire. The heat wave dried out the grass around it." Gaara nodded at the new information. "Hey wait kid!" Ignoring the mans' orders, the suna nin raised his hands and sand burst from his palms. It was only when the sand reached the water that a few of the villagers saw the metal plate head band. "A sand ninja?" Several others quickly went back to work, not noticing the older image of Gaara fail. Sand turned into a large bowl that scooped up hundreds of gallons of water form the river. Gaara twisted his palms and the sand bowl floated over the villager line over to the mill. The sand near the bottom of the bowl a pipe of sand formed and started spraying water in strategic parts of the mill dousing the fire faster than the villagers could. Ten minutes and three trips to the river passed before the fire was gone. Gaara looked at his sand annoyed he didn't think of how heavy the sand would be before it all dried.

Gaara gave a tight smile to the thankful villagers. "I was passing through investigating the path for my Kage. He is attending the finals for the Chuunin exams that are being held in Air Country." After several more pleasantries Gaara started walking towards the forest line. He had kept his brother and sister waiting long enough. "Hey!" Gaara sighed. He had watched the man stare at him ever since his mission of scouting the area. He turned in time to see the man run up to him with a woman slowly trailing behind him.

"If you are scouting the area, could you route out some bandits for us?"

"Olan!" The woman in a slim dress shouted her disapproval several feet behind the two. The man Gaara assumed was the man's wife scowled at him. "He is just a child. And we don't have the money needed to hire ninja."

Gaara looked at the group and thought about the request. "I will investigate provided that it is along my path. Where is the place you have been attacked?"

While ignoring his wife, "Not far from here. It's back on the main road through those patties." The man pointed to the direction Gaara came from. "There are three small side roads not far north from there. We are not affected but my brothers' rice fields have not been able to send out their grain. They are heavily taxed. The only reason why I know of the problem is because his youngest daughter traveled through here a few days ago. They had been working under the bandits guard."

Gaara thought about it and nodded his agreement. "Who is the girl? Could she show me the path she took to get into the village?"

Olan walked across town with Gaara and a few other villagers following. To a few it was news to see a ninja. Others were curious to the girl. She had been asleep and tired from her run. Gaara was welcomed into the house and led to a room. Olan knocked on the door gently. "Tayuya, it's me, Uncle Ol." Gaara quirked his hairless brow.

A girl with red hair who was likely one or two years older than Gaara answered the door. "Yeah Ol?" The girl looked around and noticed a small boy behind the man.

"A ninja from the land of the Sands has come by and asked if you could show him where you left your home from."

The girl looked at the boy and glared at him. "He's going to get himself killed." Gaara grinned at the girl. He turned away.

"If she does not want to cooperate then I should be on my way. I think I can find the village well enough with out her aid."

The girl just stared at the smaller red head. "Hey! Don't you dare turn your back on me! If you want to die fine!" Tayuya walked right after him slipping on her sandals at the front door. "But that doesn't mean you are going alone."

Gaara looked at the girl. "You are coming with me to die?" Tayuya ground her teeth.

"No I am not going to die, but I won't be fighting them. I want to see my family. It was enough I got the word out we need help." Gaara turned and walked away at a brisk pace. Tayuya followed at a run to match his pace. She scowled at his speed. She had always been the fastest of her village and to be out classed by some runt didn't sit well with her. She gasped when he came to a sudden halt and she slowed into to not run into him.

Tayuya was about to make a snide remark before the glare he was giving the area stopped her. After a second Gaara placed his hand together in a seal. "Kai." The air around the area warped and Tayuya opened her mouth seeing the thick forest change into broken trees and debris that likely blocked the road they stood on. Gaara gave a side glance to the girl before sighing. He wouldn't leave her alone to explore. Sand wrapped around the girl and lifted her into the air. She squealed before she noticed that the boy she had been following was moving much faster. The sand trailed him like a kite with her in the air. Tayuya looked around still not liking the idea of not being able to move.

The boy finally lowered her when the two arrived at a river. After looking both ways Gaara asked, "Which way is your village?" The red head pointed down stream. Gaara smiled before standing on the shore and running up stream.

Tayuya started screeching, "Why the hell are we going in the opposite way!"

"My siblings were attacked; they likely went in the opposite direction in an attempt to destroy any chance of being tracked." The girl scowled in her helpless sand cage.

-o-

Kankuro picked up his travel pack and rotated his shoulder. "Temari, we need to start heading back. This is something Gaara will need to know about."

Temari nodded satisfied that there was no more pursuit. She stood and a twig snapped from under her foot. Cords resounded behind them as a trap was triggered by the girls' foot. The children tensed with weapons in their hands before they both exhaled. Sand splashed into the air, seconds later their brother strolled into the seven foot clearing.

"Nice job with the traps. Baki would be impressed." Temari smiled but it was Kankuro's shrewd eye that noticed the girl.

"Who's the brat?" Tayuya turned red in her sand cage. "Don't whose' the brat me you bastard! I got to be a few years older than you!" Gaara smiled never looking back at the girl.

"This is Tayuya-san. Her village likely being occupied. Were the ninja you met patrolling?" Temari shook her head and described the line of villagers and the formation they moved in.

"It wasn't pretty. Many looked as if they had been walking for days. When we were chased, the ninja that was chasing us didn't think we would be able to out run him. Those guys wont make the mistake again. We were very lucky we were so close to the river." Gaara closed his eyes in thought.

"I don't think I can perform this mission on my own. Temari, Kankuro, I need you both to take Tayuya into her town from what ever route she escaped from. I will lead off the ninja. If they are ninja, they will see me as a threat." Gaara smiled eerily. The sand siblings shivered. "Be careful, I won't be there to save you if you get caught." Gaara gave the three children a serious look then a single glance to the older girl. "Take care of my borther and sister." With a bow he turned towards the villaged and already began building chakra. "With luck, You will just have to disable normal guardsmen." She glared back at the boy who turned into swirls of sand. Finally after a second the boy disappeared.

"Who the hell does that runt think he is!" Kankuro laughed. "What's so funny you pasty faced mascara running freak." Temari stifled a grin while Kankuro looked at the girl with no real concern.

Kankuro nudged his head to the girl. "The only ninja in our group. Lead the way Tayuya-san." The anger in the girls voice deflated at his courteous tone. Tayuya stuffed her fist in her pockets and led the way.

-o-

Gaara took five total sand leaps before he found the village. He was lucky he didn't appear right in the middle of it. One more good sand jump and he would have. Gaara felt sand wrap around him and the tree he stood against. The sand shifted into bark leaving no trace of the boy. In the small compartment Gaara exhaled. He was still unsure if he could do this job. The chakra he needed to gather to pull the stunt off was enourmous. If he drew on Shukaku's chakra it would defeat the purpose of this attack. He would be spotted quickly. Gaara smiled inwardly knowing Naruto would call it a prank regardless of the situation. Gaara placed his hands together collecting chakra and forming sand deep within the earth. Another eery grin crossed his face. _A prank in deed._

-o-

Temari settled next to Kankuro with her fan in hand. "Tayuya-san, Kankuro, There is a patrol every ten minutes. We won't get half way through it before being detected."

Kankuro flexed his hands then looked at Temari who nodded in agreement. "Then we wait for Gaara's signal."

"What? He's not dumb enough to do a flare is he." Both sand siblings chuckled.

-o-

Gaara was glad he found the girl Tayuya. When he knew he would have to kill on this mission, he did not want his brother and sister to watch. Especially when they had to ride on his sand so often. "Desert Coffin." Five soldiers fell to the ground dead from the imploding sand that wrapped them. A sixth soldier vomited at the site. Gaara looked at the man annoyed. Vomit was worse than blood. The soldier looked at the boy in horror. Gaara raised his hand. His cold eyes repeated what he said. "Scream for me." The soldier's arm imploded. An echoing scream escaped the man's mouth as one after another, his remaining arm, then his legs imploded. Finally after twenty seconds Gaara bowed his head to the dead man.

"Thank you, your screams just saved the villagers lives."

Gaara wondered at the time it would take ninja of any caliber more than thirty seconds to respond to a scene. He was finally rewarded with a group of ninja appeared. He looked at them all before saying, "Kazekage edict demands I eliminate any ninja that directly threatens the safety of the Sandaime Kazekage's royal family."

Gaara counted three jounin jackets and three chuunin jackets. Sweat rolled down the boy's neck as he realized this wasn't likely the whole force. The Jounin looked at the dead wearily. Gaara noted the sudden chance. The ground below the boy turned to sand and he fell into it. The Jounin jumped into the air. The Chuunin weren't as lucky as they were suddenly gripped by sand from beneath them and sucked under. The jounin looked at the ground as it shook with three muffled screams following.

From above them Gaara projected his voice. "Your group is found guilty of attempted assassination of Temari and Kankuro of the desert." Of the three remaining ninja one cleared the trees as sand few after him. A second began to use his chakra to use earth as a barrier from the sands that reached out form the trees that surrounded him. The remaining Jounin was gripped by a fist made of sand through the tree he was standing on. The Jounin performed several seals forced a technique Gaara never saw before. The man clasped his hands over the arm of sand before it turned brittle and into earth. The man broke the arm and cleared the tree. Another tree not even a meter away burst into sand and encompassed him in mid air. "Your punishment is death." A sudden muffled scream sounded before the lump of blood fell to the ground with a thud. The other two jounin had successfully cleared the trap as their comrade died. They made their escape towards the village intent on bring reinforcements. Gaara nodded in approval. _Bring them all to me._ Gaara rose out from the sand panting slightly. He started walking confidently as sand flew around him like gusts of air. After thirty seconds Gaara regained his stamina and was satisfied with his preparations. The next part of his plan would be the hardest he had ever pulled.

-o-

The three children noticed the scream and two men from the patrol group they were watching started to run to the sounds. One of the ninja noticed the children. "There are three kids here, get them!" He then ran to investigate the screams.

Temari jumped down from her hiding spot. "Kankuro get her out of here." Temari charged forward her fan already off her back and in her hand. The patrol group was small but with out any ninja to help them, it would be fast. She opened her fan. A large gust of chakra filled air crashed into the first three men. Temari closed her fan and was onto of the next soldier and ruthlessly slammed her fan down on the man's shoulder. When she was satisfied with the broken bones and his slumped form she jumped off of him and opened her fan. With a large spin of her body she threw the fan. It spun in a large arc hit another man slamming him into a tree. Temari reached out with her hands and attached several strings of chakra to the fan pulling it back to her. She caught it one handed and ran after the last man who had started making his retreat. She threw her closed fan a head of her and it arced around to the front of the man forcing him to come to a halt. The man stopped and turned around to see the eleven year old girl. "M-monster…" Temari scowled at him and the fan burst open and the handle hit the man on the head.

"Ninja, jerk." Temari glared at the man and picked up her fan. "Eww there's blood on my fan now." Temari kicked the man only to see he didn't move. Temari's face paled and she started at him before she realized she killed him. "I got dead man's blood on my fan." She shuddered before making her way to find her brother and Tayuya.

-o-

Tayuya hated not knowing what was going on. She just knew that the blonde girl took off. When the blonde shouted at Kankruo Tayuya instantly resisted. Kankruo almost snarled at the girl and instead of dragging her picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed at him all the while desperately trying to kick and bite him to let her go. She got angrier when she saw he didn't even notice her attacks. After Kankuro was confident enough to slow he set the girl down. He looked to his left and saw his sister. Several hand signs later he nodded in grim acknowledgement. "It's safe now Tayuya-san we can go down the main road now. There were only four patrols and they are either dead or investigating the screams we heard earlier." Kankuro looked over and saw Temari slightly green but holding a smug grin. She looked at her fan to make sure it was still in fighting condition and strapped it to her back.

Both children felt another patrol approaching them. That last ninja probably told the patrol to help out the other group. "How are you for another round Temari?" Temari shook her head. Kankuro didn't notice until now she was still out of breath. "I'll take over, watch Tayuya." The girl in question silently fumed at being nothing but cargo to the two kids who were no older than she was.

She glared at Temari who was too exhausted to laugh. "Why can't I at least see what's going on?" The complaint came out as a whine and Tayuya blushed.

Temari shook her head and leaned against a tree and motioned for the girl to follow. The two lay down on the tree covered hill and slowly made there way up it. Temari was about to hand signal tot eh girl but growled when she realized the girl wouldn't' know what she meant. "What ever happens, don't make a sound." Temari placed her fan in her hands and the two moved up to see over the crest of the hill.

-o-

Gaara looked around him. "This seems to be a large operation in opposing territory during the middle of the Chuunin exams." A dozen ninja surrounded him and he felt several more hidden in what they thought was the soil. "Apparently your group forgets." Gaara clenched his fist and the ninja in the earth died. He looked up in time to see a foot connect with his wall of sand. There was a sudden gasp when the wall turned into a clone and snapped the attackers leg and pushing him away. The clone threw several shuriken made of sand at the down man only pausing only enough to see that the man died.

Gaara himself push sand from the reservoir below him to the surface. The sand ninja was glad he mad so much sand to protect him. The boy knew his limitations better than anyone and making the sand several hours ago gave him an extra minute of stamina. He had three more minutes of chakra use before he would be beyond the point of escape. Four ninja physically assaulted the boy in unison only to be stopped in various poses in their attack. Gaara saw two people managed to get past his initial barrier of sand. Gaara produced a long knife and slid chakra down its edge. With two swipes the offending stone nin lost a foot or a fist. Gaara retracted his sand and dodged several long range attacks already knowing the sand around him was getting too soaked with blood.

In his new spot he realized four ninja mistakenly thought the trees they were on were safe. Gaara corrected that assumption and counted that four left. He groaned aloud when he noticed that two of them were the surviors from his last run in. They had been watching the whole time. "I suspect as Jounin you are all confident about your speed." Gaara raised his hands and the four jounin tensed. "Sand Orchestra." Gaara started moving his hands and twelve streams of sand chased after the remaining ninja.

-o-

Kankuro was glad there were only normal people guarding the entrance to the town. He dodged two men's swords and threw a kunai at one man and moved on to the next already hearing the man scream. The sound of slicing air forced Kankuro to jump back, and was rewarded with dodging a large sword triple the width of the previous man's katana.

The man growled and charged the boy. Kankuro held a yelp and scrambled side to side while avoiding each attack. When he saw he was getting cornered he started using his Kunai to deflect the blows, but the boy knew that wouldn't last long, his kunai received a heavy dent with each blow.

Kankuro felt a blow to his side and realized another man was joining the fight. Another kick pushed him into a tree and he dropped his useless kunai. The swordsman charged again and raised his sword over his head. He roared on his impending victory.

From above him Kankuro thought he heard a gasp but ignored it. He ground his teeth and reached out to grab the sword. Kankuro stared at the sword when it impacted his hands with a loud clank. The blow shook his whole body. A second later he saw his elbow buckle before breaking.

"You bastard it took a long time to fix that." Several clanks sounded from Kankuro's right arm before his hand split open. Seven poison needs launched form the new opening piercing the swordsmans' side. He fell quickly.

Kankuro spared a glance at the last man who started at the boy in horror. The Sand sibling sighed while he let the chakra strings in his broken forearm go. The arm fell limply to his side and the elbow joint disconnected. Kankuro glared at the man who so far has been using hand to hand combat. "If you think you can win let's go." Kankuros' detached appendage rustled and blade hidden inside the puppet arm flew into the boys arm. The man saw liquid fly off the blade and realized it was the poison that dropped his fellow guardsmen. The man quickly left.

Kankro looked at his broken fighting arm and then at his functional arm. "You guys can come out now." All of Kankuro's irritation left him when he saw the girl Tayuya staring at his arms.

-o-

Gaara moved his right hand in a tempo. Sand chased after the four shinobi. Gaara glided his left hand in the air and five more streams of sand burst from the ground and converged on a single jounin who died in moments. Gaara felt the ground beneath him shake and knew that he lost attention of a ninja. Earth tried to ram up below the boy but was stopped by Gaara's sphere of sand. Gaara stomped his foot and Sand pushed the man out of the ground where several streams of sand sliced through him. Several tempo beats later Gaara saw that two of the ninja were trying to get closer to him. Gaara narrowed his eyes when he saw that their fists were slowly learning to deflect the streams of sand. Gaara raised both of his hands high into the air and clenched his fists. Enormous amounts of sand jumped out of the ground and converged on the ninja. Gaara felt the sand implode and lowered his hands relieved that all of the threats were accounted for. The bow hunched over panting. He didn't know he was holding his breath.

A sound of sifting sand got his attention. He was saved by his sand. He looked at the man and gasped. The man was turning into sand. "Surprised brat? This is the strongest blood limit of the Village hidden in the Stone. It let's me take on the aspects of what ever kind of earth I absorb."

Gaara saw the man slowly begin to move through the sphere. Gaara jumped back and the man's arm turned to sand and reformed into a long piercing weapon. The remaining stone ninja shouted a battle cry and thrust his arm into the sand sphere that formed around the boy. Gaara felt something pierce his side and blood soak his clothes. The sphere of sand fell and Gaara stepped back. Blood gushed from his wound and the man laughed victoriously. Gaar felt a surge of chakra and knew that his demon was trying to save him.

The Sand sibling snapped his head forward and punched the man in the face throwing him threw several trees. Gaara felt sand climb into his wound stanching the blood flow. Gaara saw the man stare at him. Gaara wondered what the man saw, likely yellow eyes and enormous killing intent. Gaara raised his hand and the man's body flew towards the boy.

Gaara sneered at the man. "For a jounin you are not smart. You should never have told me what your blood limit did." The man struggled realizing now that he was made of sand the boy could control him. He started to swear at the boy. "You are pathetic. Scatter, and never come back." The man screamed in pain as his body did just that. Sand burst apart that mad up the man. A large sigh escaped the boys mouth as he fell back on to his butt. He looked around and grimaced. "I say that and leave clues how I fight all over the place." Gaara felt his side and was satisfied his demon was slowly healing him. With out much concern Gaara felt himself slip into a dreamless sleep.

-o-

"He's here!" Temari shouted behind her. She walked around the sand careful not to touch it. When she found him he was passed out. Sand shifted around him when she walked closer to him. Glad he was alright, Temari reached to Gaara and the sand separeated to allow her to come closer. Gaara gave a slight moan when he was moved. Temari doubled her efforts to carry him carefully. Kankuro looked around to make sure there were no enemy ninja left. With a nod the two rushed back to the village relieved that their brother was alive.

At the small town, the villagers were already organizing themselves free of their oppressors. They had rounded up the men still alive from the fight. Temari herself was glad that the town was so ready to fight back. She had not expected so many more soldiers in town, and the two ninja in town realized their whole squad was wiped out they fled. A villager had informed her before she left that they sent out a message to the capital by bird. When Gaara was safely inside a bed she finally allowed herself to relax. She looked over to Kankuro who was talking to Tayuya's father.

"You sure you can operate as a ninja with one arm?" Kankuro looked at his arm. He had forgotten his fake are was damaged. With out even thinking about it, Kankuro's right arm fell down lifeless. Then his shoulders suddenly slipped forward tearing the cloth as they did so. Tayuya and her father gaped at the sudden movement. Kankuro's arms fell to the ground with a large clank. The boy rotated his neck and his back moved slightly as his real arms moved out from his back.

"Sorry when you have those on for so long you forget. Yeah, my real arms are still here." Kankuro wiggled his fingers at the man. Temari shook her head before leaning back and feeling the last few days of exhaustion catch up to her.

It was less than a day later that Tayuya came into Gaara's room. "Temari, Kankuro! Some people are here, they have your headband." The siblings stood and followed her out. Each had their weapons ready incase. When they walked out. The dropped into their stances. It was there father.

Suspsion flashed through both siblings minds. "Who are you?" Kankuro called out to the man. He stood by himself and each child realized they were surrounded. Tayuya looked on in confusion before she back pedaled into the house again. The man took off his Kazekage hat and looked at the kids appraisingly.

"Are you that distrustful Kankuro?" Kankuro didn't drop his guard. Temari was the one that said, "Prove who you are."

The man just laughed. "Very well Temari." The man pulled a letter from his sleeve and tossed it in the air. Temari looked at it and realized it was a letter from Naruto. Both children spared a side glance. They relaxed slightly. Their father frowned. "Was your situation so bad that Gaara could not handle it?" This got their attention and they stood down. Kankuro put away his kunai and Temari let her fan fall back to her back.

"Have someone look north east of here. There was a drawn out battle." Two sand ninja disappeared. Temari looked at her dad with Kankuro right behind them. Finally they both gave him a hug glad to see their father was here. He patted both their heads.

Finally he asked the question that concerned him the most. "What happened to Gaara." Temari and Kankuro led their father to their brothers' room telling him what they knew. Their father came to a halt outside the room. "You two stay here for a moment." Both children looked at him instantly weary. Their father just chuckled. "It's for your safety, your brother has reason to hate me." When the door opened sand around Gaara lashed in wicked strides around the room. Immediately after the Kazekage took a single step into the room the sand attacked the man. The Kazekage smiled and just knocked each jet of sand out of the way with a wave of his hand.

When he was finally over the boy the sand wrapped itself in a dome around the boy protecting him. Gaara's father looked at the dome with an unreadable expression before his hand touched the dome and pushed the sand away as if it was nothing. The sand tried one more time to weakly stop the man. The fathers' hand reached the boys forehead sand tried to keep the two separate. The adult flowed chakra to his hand and the sand was brushed aside. For several minutes Gaara's father simply rubbed the boys forehead.

When he was finished he stood and left the room. He smiled at his two children and went down stairs.

-o-

When Gaara woke up he found his side bandaged and laying in a warm bed. After a few moments to shake the stiff ness out of his back, the boy got out of bed and noticed that he was only wearing his pants and the bandage. He found his shirt and slid it on before approaching the door. His hand dropped to his side. There was someone on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal a ninja from the Sand village. Gaara exhaled before he realized it was Baki.

"What are you doing here, what about the Chuunin exams?" The man waved off his concern before escorting the boy outside.

"Gaara!" The boy turned relieved his brother and sister were alright. Temari nearly plowed him over when she hugged him. Kankuro smiled before waving from behind her.

"You guys made it then. That's good." Gaara's face returned to its stoic expression at the sight of his father. The man wore his traditional Kazekage hat but everything else he wore was casual garments. "Father."

"Gaara. Well done." He nodded to the boy before he left. Gaara was dragged to a restaurant where he was forced to trade stories with his brother and sisters with Tayuya there to give oo's and aah's.

-o-

Gaara stood at the stadium of the Chuunin exams three weeks later. He wore the Kazekage's guard badge at his shoulder and stood among the crowd watching the fights below them. He was pleased that all three of his team mates were able to make it tot eh finals. But it was only Sosan who progressed to the second round. Gaara smiled at the sudden sportsmanship he had exhibited through his two rounds. What ever happened finally allowed him to move beyond his limiting views. He sighed knowing he would loose a good friend out of his team.

The day ended with Gaara standing next to his father while he spoke to the Raikage. It had turned out they were they only two Kages to preside over the Chuunin exams. Gaara listened to their conversation and realized that they spoke of his unintended mission. It was here Gaara found out that the Stone ninja were trying to create a large scale spy network by replacing an entire village with their own workers and ninja. Gaara had wondered why there were so many ninja at the site.

When the Raikage realized the person to foil the raid that was going on in his territory he thanked the nine year old for doing Lightening country a great service. Gaara stayed silent and bowed unsure how to gracefully accept the commendation.

The day after the Chuunin exam Sosan sported a chuunin jacket. Amid stories on the way home the group stopped at Tayuya's village. Kankuro has managed to convince their father that they should check to see if the village was still alright.

The village saw the group first and several people including cloud village ninja watched the group enter the town. The Kazekage spoke with the cloud ninja who nervously replied back.

Tayuya had watched the group come in and realized that the three children were looking for her. She jumped out of her room window and ran up to the three. "I thought you guys would be back in Suna Village already." She smirked at the group.

"We couldn't leave with out saying goodbye, the last one was kinda rushed." Temari announced.

Tayuya gave a laugh. "You guys didn't even say good buy, that guy with the wird hat just said it was time to go." That got a smile out of Gaara before the group heard the call to move out.

"It was good meeting you Tayuya. Stay out of trouble." Gaara's walked away trying not to laugh at the girls scowl.

"It was nice having another girl around. Be sure to visit Suna some time." Tayuya and Temari gave each other a hug before Kankuro scratched his head.

"It was good meeting you Tayuya-san." Tayuya gave a nervous smile.

Gaara looked at the two and said, "Don't get charmed, he's a pervert."

"Naruto was right! You love ruining a guys chance with a lady!" Kankuro turned back to Tayuya and noticed they shared matching crimson faces. Gara tilted his head.

"There's nothing wrong with perverts, Temari here likes one." It was Temari's turn to turn red. She refrained from hitting her brother. Her letters with Naruto were nice, but she would like to see him once in a while. After a cautious look at Tayuya and Kankuro, Temari nudged her brothers side and whispered, "Gaara, be nice they probably wont see eachother again." Gaara suddenly realized that and muttered an apology.

The next hour on the road was silent as Temari and Gaara were trying to ignore their brothers' sighs. Gaara was next to his father stopped walking. Several of the guars turned to where the Kazekage was staring. Gaara turned to face him. "Something the matter Kazekage-sama?"

The man just smiled. "Shishou-chan?" Gaara groaned and his team suddenly felt sweat roll down their heads as all four of them turned to the forest. On the main path, the group could plainly see the message, 'Shishou-chan wins'. Gaara glared at his group and said, "Sosan you are lucky that you out rank me." The teenager nodded thankfully before getting back into ranks. Both girls smiled weakly at their leader. "I will have a talk with you two when we get back." Tsumi and Rina thanked what ever god prevented the group from seeing the picture.

The Kazekage watched the scene happen with amusement hiding behind his face cloth.

-o-

The old man sighed at his understudy. "Naruto I have said it plenty of times, you have so much potential but you squander it." The courtyard was covered in yellow and red leaves from Naruto's latest protest about his training.

"Just because I want to fight a certain way doesn't mean that it's a waste of time!" Naruto sat on the floor and crossed his arms.

The old man Chiharu smiled. "Your fighting style is truly something to admire Uzumaki. But there is such a think as growing beyond your limits. You will never reach the next stage of training like your team mates if you don't first let go of what made you who you are." The man patted the boys' shoulder. Naruto ignored the sand that the man rubbed off.

Naruto glared but stayed quiet content to pout in silence. The old man bowed to the child. He then turned away and out of the yard. Down an outdoors passageway, Chiharu exhaled. "Your students are all very troublesome Kakashi."

Kakashi stepped out from behind the pillar he was leaning on. "That is why I am here at the Temple of Fire. Truthfully all three have become amazing. At this rate they may be capable of passing the chuunin exam before I did." Chiharu smiled. Kakashi put away his book and followed the old man. While he enjoyed his students he was hard pressed to motivate Naruto. None of the other instructors or his friends was able to break his stubbornness.

"Asuma said that Hinata is doing well under his tutelage. He says he is regretting it every night with a sore body. Sasuke is on par with his brother when Itatchi made chuunin as much as the boy loathes to admit it. But it seems the one who is the most stubborn is the one who will hold them back."

Chiharu shook his head. "No, I think you should send them back. The children have been our understudies for over a year, and have helped us guard the Daiyamo. Each one bears the sash of Fire Country. Naruto despite his great reluctance to move ahead is still at a spot where he would not endanger himself or his team. Maybe his next few missions working with his team mates will make him admit to what I have been saying to him for the past few months."

"That does me no good Chiharu. I need these three to prove that they are capable ninja's and there is only one way I can do that." Chiharu nodded.

"You are taking them to the Village Hidden in the Sand." Kakashi nodded. Chiharu humm'ed for a moment. "I'll prepare Naruto the best I can. I can allow him some leeway since he has been patient with everything else. Team seven will be ready by the time they leave the Temple."

Kakashi thought about it. "I'll give you three more months."

- - - End Chapter 11 Leaders - - -

A/N: First things first. I am back! Well sorta. I had struggled with this chapter for the simple reason that I hate chapters in stories where it is nothing but a long fighting action scene. No story is accomplished, there is no surprise, especially with a lot of fanfic writers style of writings, and there is no resolve afterwards. If you have noticed, I try to keep my action sequences down to a minimum. Usually only one action sequence per chapter as they are written in the way of one shots. Long fights can lead to dozen pages of nothing but 'blah blah blah no jutsu'. Which I really hate. And they are really no fun to write.

This story has reached a stop a while ago simply because the next few chapters have fights. A lot of fights. And no real story progression. (Both stories are written into this corner, which is why there hasn't been a Harry Potter chapter in a while either.) It took a lot to make each of these fights for the siblings be individual, and this could be considered a filler chapter if it weren't for the progressing of Gaara and his fathers' relationship. And even that's pushing it. O.k. I have vented, back to trying to write a story out of fight scenes for the next chapter. It should be a doozy.


	12. Chapter 12 Manipulation

So it counts as a mission?" The ninja asked a little too eagerly.

Their commanding officer nodded before waving them off. It was too hot to try to give them the reasons now. The adult tossed the three a communicator each. "Report to me when you find the ones in the village. I'll issue you additional orders when you secure the ones you find." There was a resounding 'hai' before the team of three disappeared.

Kakashi sighed before he found a suitable spot to sit in the shade and continue his reading.

Chapter 12

The Journey Home - Part 1: Manipulation

Naruto landed on a roof and waved to several shinobi who passed by. Two who recognized the boy waved back before they continued on. The blonde finally found what he was looking for before looking at his watch. "Hey guys we can camp out here for an hour while we wait." The three landed on the widest branch before sitting down. Naruto sat in the middle as he pointed at the building they were camping out in front of.

Hinata scratched her cheek in confusion before asking. "Why don't you just go in there like you usually do?"

Naruto grinned. Sand fell from his sleeve and down to a street vendor below. Sand tapped the man's shoulder and changed into an arrow pointing at the three. "Three drinks please." Naruto dropped some change that his sand caught and lowered to the man. The man dubiously handed three canned beverages to the sand that brought it up to Naruto's teammates. Naruto drank and sighed. "I missed this stuff. The capitol doesn't sell it. And you'll understand as soon as you talk to them Sasuke."

Hinata hummed at Naruto before leaning against the base of the tree. After a moment of silence, Hinata voiced, "So you flooded the basement?"

Sasuke laughed into his drink effectively choking himself while Naruto laughed aloud.

Their time came when the doors opened and children from six to twelve walked out of the building. Naruto noticed the pair immediately and tugged at his teammates sleeves excitedly. "That's them. We can get them when the students thin out a little more. Naruto squatted on his toes while eagerly waiting for the young girl and boy to walk close by the tree. Naruto nodded before Sasuke vaulted off the tree first in front of the two.

Sasuke smiled at the two kids before bowing to them. The students stopped. "Sabaku no Kankuro and Temari, I presume." The two turned around when they heard someone behind them. A black haired girl smiled at them with wide eyes.

"Forgive my teammates, they been over dramatics since… well, before I have met them." Temari was about to say a comeback line before she felt an arm over her shoulder. She turned to Kankuro and found a head of blonde hair obstructing her view. The head turned up to her and blue eyes looked at her with a wide smile before his brows' creased.

"You're still taller than me!"

Temari screamed and pushed the blonde off her in surprise. Her feet tangled with his and she fell flat on her back. "Naruto!" Temari nearly screamed in shock.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed before pulling her up and waving at Kankuro. "How's it going Kankuro?" The brown haired boy grunted before sighing at his friend.

"It was going fine until you made Temari screech in our ears." Naruto pouted at that. Sasuke moved his hand away from his ear and smirked at his blonde teammate. Naruto gave a relieved look, glad someone remembered they were supposed to be on a mission. Sasuke put his hand out making a 'V' sign for victory when the two sand siblings were not looking, after a second he raised another finger to indicate the third child. Naruto pulled Temari and Kankuro with him to his teammates.

"Hey guys meet Sasuke and Hinata, they are my teammates." The two children in question stood next to the blonde while giving introductions. "Guys, this is Temari and Kankuro." The four children exchanged hands in greetings before Naruto grinned widely. "So you guys hungry?" Kankuro smirked.

"Only if you are paying."

Naruto grinned before waving the group to follow. After a moment he stopped and looked at the siblings. "What's Gaara doing right now?" Temari and Kankuro grimaced.

-o-

Gaara glared in frustration. The eight year old stomped his foot once and the sand surrounding him quaked, changing from dunes to a level field. "Don't just dodge! Get it inside!" Tsumi panted while she pivoted her foot around a spike of sand. "Apply pressure! You will only get a chance if you force an opening." Tsumi finally closed the distance between her and her teammate. With a scroll suddenly at her side, shuriken's burst from the scroll breaking through the debris of sand floating in the air. Gaara saw the tags as the attack hit his shield of sand. He made to flee when he felt his feet were unable to move. He looked behind him as the explosion hit. Rina rose from the sand. Wires wrapped around her hands and she pulled them taunt when Gaara felt his feet press harder to the floor. Gaara smiled and closed his eyes when the light enveloped him.

Tsumi ran around to Rina who watched the explosion carefully. "We did it." The blonde said happily.

"I think we over did it, I never saw him move." After a moment of silence from the cloud of exploded dust, both girls started running to the blast zone. When the smoke started to clear they heard a chuckle. Gaara moved out of the smoke with cracked layers of sand fanning over his body. His left arm had no sand and was a bright blue with spots of red just under the skin.

"That was well done, both of you. I had no way to escape that." Both teens sighed before moving to help heal him. Gaara smiled at his older teammates before turning around. "You managed to catch me at one of my most uncool moments."

The girls looked up. They didn't realize they had an audience. Naruto laughed loudly. "Uncool? Since when did you care about being cool Gaara."

"Hey I have a fan club. My extra ice cream rations come from their dues." Gaara dusted himself off with his good hand before looking at his arm.

Sasuke looked at the boy for a second. "You can do that?"

Gaara grinned before Tsumi wrapped an arm around the Uchiha, "Let's talk some business, as the president of the Gaara Fan Club I can show you all sorts of trade secrets…" Tsumi stopped and turned her head to the sudden anger directed at her back.

"Sasuke, if you try and use one girl's heart to gain profit, you will wish you had never trained me." Her fist shook next to her face and blue lines of chakra surrounded her arm. Sasuke gulped and wisely stayed silent even as Tsumi gave a disappointed grunt.

The group settled in at the siblings house. Tsumi was disappointed their last teammate couldn't show as he was on mission. But the disappointment quickly left as she felt Hinata's constant gaze on her. Tsumi grinned before going over to talk to the girl about Sasuke's problem. Rina felt it would be prudent to help Tsumi if the young girl got angry. Children who were shinobi were the scariest kind of shinobi.

Naruto watched the interaction of his friends with Gaara's. Gaara himself sat next to Naruto who sat next to Sasuke. All three of them were happily eating ice-cream that was paid in part by Gaara's fan club. Sasuke pulled the spoon out of his mouth before wondering out loud. "What's wrong with free ice-cream?"

Kankuro and Temari snickered behind the group.

-o-

Kakashi rarely felt the need to kneel to a person, he had never done it for a daiyamo, and never for one of his own Kages. Two were friends, and the Sandaime was, well the Sandaime. "Raise leaf ninja." Kakashi stood and felt a slight tension that he could not shake off thanks to Naruto's stories.

"Thank you for your audience Kazekage. I have a personal request with the permission from the Hokage Tsunade."

The browned haired man raised his eyebrows. They were allies, and it was rare for allies to actually make request of each other. They were usually demands. "How can I help the Jounin Teacher of Uzumaki Naruto?"

Kakashi looked at the man straight in the eye. "I am requesting that you take responsibility for my team during the next Chuunin Exams."

The Sandaime Kazekage looked to his left and the observing ninja checked the room and the area out doors before bowing and leaving. "Will you please explain?" His voice was calm but Kakashi could feel the trail of irritation in his voice.

"You are aware that Naruto was sent here in the beginning to keep him safe from his own village as the citizenry were beginning to grow violent." The man nodded not willing to share his opinion over the issue. "At the assignment of our mission I was given permission to have my team do what ever was necessary to enable them to return to Konoha under the guidelines the council has placed under Team Kakashi."

The Kazekage looked at the man for a moment before he smirked. "You wish for them to enter the Chuunin exams with out the endorsement of your Kage."

"Edict demands that a team prove their loyalty to Konoha before being placed under a foreign power. Team Kakashi is currently on a mission to fulfill that requirement."

Curiosity was the only driving force that made the Kazekage ask the question. "What kind of mission is your team performing that will grant this ability to be transferred as Sand Ninja?"

Kakashi felt nervous sweat roll off his forehead. Hopefully Naruto was right about this man. "Espionage."

The man looked at the Leaf ninja in disbelief before he burst out laughing. "Gaara. That's your teams' espionage mission isn't it? To have Gaara help them track the new generation of potential Chuunin."

"Hai."

_The story unfolds._ Thought the Kage. He folds his hands on his desk and was glad his mask covered the smile that he could not hide. "And what are the parameters to completing this mission?"

-o-

Naruto was glad all his friends were able to get along. He had always been nervous thinking about if the two groups of friends couldn't be friends. There was no worry as Sasuke found an immediate friend to share complaints with in Kankuro, and Hinata found fast friends with Temari and Gaara's female teammates. It was thanks to this turn of events that he was able to get some quiet time to talk to Gaara.

"I know that look Naruto. Why are you guys here so early. The Chuunin exams won't happen for a few weeks."

Naruto sighed before setting down his bowl of ice cream. "Right now we don't qualify for the Chuunin exams." Gaaras eyes looked at him incredulously. Naruto waved off his response and continued. "We need to perform a single mission so we can get permission to take the exam with out the consent of our village." Gaara immediately thought of the villagers of Konoha. He remembered reading about how their government was structured differently and suddenly understood what Naruto's team was doing in Suna.

"You three are trying to get around your village's meddling so you can go home early."

Naruto nodded glad he was able to keep Gaara informed about his life through letters. "Yeah. If the council had it their way, and with out the old man and hag, our team would be genin until we are at least twelve years old. And we would be out of the village until then. Its ridiculous and it hurts the village image with their most promising genin being treated so badly. Konoha is suffering since our station in the capital of fire country is such a hot topic among the politicians. The village council doesn't understand this. So we need to make our move now."

Gaara thought about this before he decided he agreed. "So that means... what exactly? How do you circumvent your council?"

Naruto gave an evil grin. "By committing treason-."

Gaara immediately hit the blonde over the head. "Don't say that out loud so plainly."

"As if you would let anyone hear this conversation." Gaara just gave him another glare but did not deny the statement. "For us to prove we are loyal ninja, we need to provide evidence that will Aid Konoha. My team needs to find information on a rival chuunin selection team, and prove it is espionage information worthy to Konoha. Once we have the proof showing that we are loyal to Konoha, we can be sponsored as Sand ninja."

"And my father will willingly let you take the exam with your names under the name Suna when the Chuunin exam is held in our own village." Gaara looked at the in amazement. After a moment he finally asked. "Did you come up with this on your own?"

Naruto shook his. "Actually I think me Sasuke and Hinata always knew we had to get through the chuunin exams as fast as possible. We just slowly built off ideas until this clicked."

Gaara rubbed his for head. "This is going to be hard, but manageable. What can I do to help?"

-o-

Their first chance was spotted ten days into their mission. Naruto wandered around the village in tan pants, shirtless with a grey muffler around his shoulders. Sasuke in similar clothes bounced the ball next to him before seeing a mirror flash in his eye three times. Sasuke handed off to Naruto. "Try and catch me Naru-chan!" Sasuke held his laughter at the name before running off in a jog towards the east gate.

"No fair!" Naruto chased after him. The two grinned at each other before Naruto punted the ball wildly. "Take that Chiha-chan!" Sasuke dove out of the way allowing the ball to sail through the air and hit a genin team that had been walking down the main road. The ball bounced once before it was caught by an older looking boy. Naruto and Sasuke ran up to him.

"Wa! Sorry! Can I have my ball back?"

The black haired genin looked at the red ball before smiling and handing it back. He patted Naruto on the head before saying. "Be careful who you hit. A lot of genin are coming to town soon, and some are not going to be as nice."

Naruto looked at him satisfied he had his ball back. Sasuke asked out loud. "Genin?"

The girl in the group looked at the two children in surprise. "You two aren't in some kind of academy?"

Naruto laughed and shook his head. "I didn't go to school, and Chiha says school is for people who aren't rich." Sasuke looked nervously at the genin team before kicking Naruto to behave.

After a moment while the genin team swallowed that bit of information, they all laughed. "Better watch what you say to ninja too kiddo." The genin team waved at them before walking off.

When they were out of sight Sasuke and Nartuo ran to an alley before making their way up to the roof. Hinata and Gaara stood there waiting. Before they made their report, Sasuke hit Naruto on the head. "Idiot, don't scare me like that. They could have tried to hurt you and our cover would have been blown."

Naruto laughed. "Easy, easy. I knew they weren't going to hurt us."

Hinata stayed under her umbrella shading herself from the sun. She dipped her brush into the ink well. "So what did you find?"

Both leaf ninja thought for a second. Naruto started. "They were at least second year genin. The boy with the black hair had thirteen visible scrolls on his vest and thigh pockets. The labeling of the only scroll visible suggests, they are all ninjutsu based scrolls meaning, he has low chakra, but with manipulation of the scrolls can perform well above his actual abilities. The girl in the group seems to be younger than the others, either that she was smarter, or that they had lost a team member before. She had no weapons and no filled pockets. She is either a genjutsu based fighter, or taijutsu tactician. I did notice that her shoes are new, so your guess is as good as mine on what kind of training she took."

Sasuke interrupted then. "I think she is genjutsu based. She immediately started to examine us as we approached them after the first guy caught the ball. The way she was bending her chakra makes me think she was trying to make sure we were not something other than children. The last guy who laughed first seemed to be the leader of the group. He was the first one smiling and the first one laughing. He also seemed to be the one who was hiding. I looked right at him, and I couldn't see him giving any thing away. He noticed that I was looking at the three of them. He smiled and politely shook his head at me. He probably knows that we were spying on them the whole time and decided what information we got off them wasn't too serious."

Hinata wrote this down along with the kanji for Iwa for the village they came from. She set the brush down. "I hope the other genin teams aren't this observant or we will be screwed faster than a Diyamo's daughter on her wedding night."

Gaara raised an eyebrow at her, the look was long enough to make Hinata blush. Naruto was the first to say, "She can still surprise us too."

-o-

After examining their first attempt the three scraped the approach all together. The team waited a week, allowing several more teams to arrive. The group observed a few teams including another leaf team. The two Konoha teams avoided each other like the plague. The leaf other team was comprised of a young twelve year old with white hair and two genin who were likely three years old than him. Naruto watched the leaf genin jump from the roofs. It took a moment before Naruto realized he was doing the same thing their team was doing. Naruto growled at himself. "Great. Competition." Before realizing he was compromising his mission, Naruto pulled a kunai and landed next to the white haired kid.

"Spying before the exam is an illegal action that can get you executed by the kage in power." Naruto pressed his kunai against the teen's spine.

The white haired boy looked at Naruto behind square framed glasses. "Aren't you a little young to be making threats?"

Naruto pushed the kunai against the teens back enough to draw blood. "Aren't you a little old to be asking stupid questions?"

"What is going on here?" Said a konoha genin with brown hair.

Naruto looked a head of him to see white hair's teammate. "Nothing, just reminding this one the rules of the game." Naruto withdrew his kunai and cleared the fist white-hair attempted to make.

"You little brat. Who do you think you are?" White-hair withdrew his kunai.

Another voice behind Naruto said clearly. "He is a genin like you. And you two are trespassing on my domain." Nartuo looked back to see Gaara standing with as much intimidation as a team leader he could muster. Sasuke and Hinata flanked Gaara.

Naruto hand turned to sand before it reformed into long claws. His blue eyes faded revealing animalistic red irises. "No one will notice if I kill them for spying Gaara. I just need to give one swipe."

The two older genin smirked at the display. As the white hair was about to make a threat he froze. His eyes were stuck on the four children and images of each of them killing him in a different way stopped him. Naruto released his gaze and his hand returned to normal. "Get rid of the weak one. If he can't move with that kind of pressure why is he trying to take this exam?" Naruto turned away before suddenly turning back. The once frozen genin smirked and his eyes turned blood shot. The white haired boy reeked of bloodlust. Naruto smirked inwardly. "So you _are_ ready for this exam." White hair took a single step forwards before he caught himself and looked around before glaring at Naruto. The child smirked "What is your name white hair?"

The young man with glasses glared. "Kabuto."

"Uzumaki Naruto, remember the name of your sempai Kabuto-kun." It was at that moment Kabuto and his teammate realized that three of the children wore leaf headbands. The older teammate grabbed Kabuto before dragging him along.

After twenty minutes of making sure no one else noticed their display and returning to Gaara's home Naruto sank into a chair. "Sorry guys, I messed up. Thanks for covering for me."

Sasuke thought about it. "No, I think its ok Naruto. What that guy did before wasn't normal for any kind of genin. Especially one as green as he appeared to be, and a seasoned genin usually wouldn't want to stoop so low as to pretend to be weaker than they are unless they want to be a target for everyone in the exam."

Hinata thought about it too. "No genin except for maybe us should be aware of that kind of bloodlust much less be able to control it. Let's report this to Kakashi. He may be able to draw up some kind of information."

-o-

Kakashi sighed at his team. He could see where it would be funny, but this was a serious problem. Kakashi ended the jutsu and pulled out his book again. Over the top of the book he looked carefully from a distance at Kabuto. The boy's hair was wild and his eyes were slightly red. He did not have a kunai out but the boy looked around ready to kill something.

Kakashi had no idea what was causing it. The boy would trigger fits of violent intention if he was provoked enough. Kakashi had never heard of a family who had those kinds of traits, and vaguely remembered the boys' profile. He just knew the boy was an orphan. There was nothing else that was worth noting. There were special circumstances in his file, but Kakashi could not remember the details, it had been almost a year since he last looked at the academy records. The concern was big enough that he looked at the boys teammates and never heard of the family names of his teammates, and did not recognize people who would be older genin and not have passes the chuunin exam and remain on active duty.

It was usually the case that if a ninja did not become promoted to chuunin by the time they were sixteen, then they should retire. It is proof that the ninja was not growing or improving their skills. And that can only get people killed. After finally debating it, he felt the concern warranted further attention.

It was the next day that Kakashi sent off the messenger bird and looked back at his team. "Good work." The three nodded. Kakashi was interested in their description of the genin and he performed his own observations of the teenager. After half an hour of aggressive mental assaults, the boy was on edge and started exhibiting the signs his team and Gaara described.

"So what do we do now?" Sasuke looked at their teacher.

Team Kakashi had fulfilled their function of acquiring information needed to pass the espionage requirement. If only barely. No need to tell his team that however. "You three were able to complete a full roster for this seasons chuunin exams. It is more than enough for the espionage mission to be considered a success. Team Kakashi is now officially Suna genin. Just keep both head bands on you at all times."

Kakashi rummaged through his side pouch before tossing the three the honorary headbands. When the three children cheered and left, Kakashi went to the door and walked to track down the boy Kabuto. Kakashi was aware of all students who have graduated every genin exam since he was ANBU captain in hopes of looking for candidates. He remembered looking at the boy's profile less than a month ago. The boy must have only graduated from the genin exam within the last three weeks. There should be no possible way with out the jounin noticing the boy if he was that talented at graduation.

-o-

Naruto stared at the moon that was over head. His arms were folded behind his head and his feet swayed to an unknown beat within the blonde's head. The young ninja smiled when he felt warmth lay next to him.

Several minutes passed before he turned his head to the guest. Naruto's usual loud voice was tempered by the rare chance with being alone with the girl. "How are you Temari-chan."

The old girl sighed while thinking about the chuunin exam. "I am just nervous. A lot of people die in those exams." Naruto sat up and turned to her. He folded his legs in front of him.

"How long as it been since we had a chance to sit like this?" Temari hmm'ed while she shifted over. It was getting cold and her bare arms shivered when a gust of wind blew. The smaller boy placed a hand on the girl's arm and guided her head to his lap. Naruto rubbed her shoulders like he was taught how during a nasty mission through a cold swamp. Temari leaned into the warm hands.

Naruto looked over to the building he would meet his team at the next day. Their gamble had paid off. Even if it's only for a few days, Naruto closed his eyes and basked in what he thought would only ever be a dream.

This is what it would be like to be a Suna Ninja with Temari at his side.

Abruptly Temari sighed. The nine year old looked at her. When her eyes met his she felt saddened. It was good to be with him. But they couldn't play this kind of game anymore. Naruto and Temari knew that this was likely one of the last times they would actually be together. It was a part of their lives as ninja. Even as allies, ninja rarely team up with other ninja from a neighboring village.

"Thank you Naruto." The younger boy looked down at the girl in confusion. Temari sat up and sat next to him. Naruto never let his hand go of her arm and it allowed him to keep an arm wrapped around her.

"For the warm massage?"

Temari giggled slightly. "That too. But I mean for everything." Temari leaned forward and kissed Naruto on the cheek. Naruto smiled at her before looking up at the moon and moved to lie back on the ground. Temari joined him and used his arm as a pillow. The night got colder and the pair slowly pulled closer together to be warm.

When the noise from inside the house started getting louder, Naruto chuckled at what sounded like Hinata threatening Gaara and his advice about fan girls. Naruto closed his eyes and felt his temple touch Temari's. "I am going to miss this." Temari leaned into his hands again. She buried her head into his shoulder.

"Yeah."

-o-

The night broke into day. It was already hot. Hinata just gave Naruto an annoyed huff while he spread his arms out and enjoyed the sun. The team arrived at the designated building. The Kazekage and a dozen jounin stood in front of the building that had a large flag marking the center of town. The genin teams and the few who had their sensei's with them gathered at the base of the building. Naruto caught a glimps of Gaara on the far side of the group but didn't get a chance to wave to him.

"Attention Genin!" The crowd quieted. "Once you are done registering, you may enter the building. The explanation of the exam will start when all teams who qualify are registered."

Team Kakashi registered and entered the cooled building. The building was empty. There was no furniture or wall hangings and doors looked as if they had not been dusted in some time. The group of genin were directed into a large auditorium and the genin slowly separated by teams then by villages. Team Kakashi found themselves sitting next to Team Gaara and the other Suna genin. When Naruto was satisfied that there were still people coming in, he turned to Gaara. "I didn't know your father was going to be watching over this exam. Isn't it early for him to start observing?"

Gaara shook his head. "The town has been preparing for the Exam for months, when you see what it is, you'll understand why he is here." Naruto gave a dubious look before pulling out a deck of cards and both Team Kakashi, and Team Gaara sat down to play.

The group ignored the looks, aggression and irritation many teams were giving them until Naruto heard a voice he recognized. "Oh? So you **are** genin."

Naruto placed his hand in his pocket and stood. "Hello Rock nin-san."

The Stone ninja looked at the two teams that were calming playing cards. "I am Taka, the girl here is Aeko, this guy is Maki." The stone ninja leader gestured to the girl they suspected was a genjustu specialist, then the ninja they suspected used scrolls.

Naturo smiled at the rock nin team. "These two are my teammates. This girl here is Hinata, the guy who's glaring at his cards is Sasuke. Next to him is my brother Gaara and his team Tsumi and Rina. I'm Naruto. Pleasure to meet you." Everyone in turn waved at the rock nin.

Taka gave a slight nod of respect. After a moment seeing the group of children ninja play cards he shook his head. "I never thought I would see someone so young be a ninja."

Naruto looked at the teen. "You don't sound surprised."

The Stone ninja turned to his teammates as they walked up to the pair. "I have heard of another ninja from Leaf village who graduated from the chuunin exam when he was six. So I know that there are some around. I didn't realize that there could be so many. And all the same age."

Gaara snorted. "I am almost ten thank you. Naruto there is just barely nine." Naruto stuck his tongue out but didn't deny the fact.

Taka chuckled but did want to ask something that had been bothering him. "May I ask why the only two Suna ninja teams represented in the exams are these two teams?"

Gaara who had been listening to the whole conversation finally spoke. "Would it be fair to ask why there is only one team coming from Rock village?" Taka gave a helpless shrug in answer. Gaara smiled at that. "The Village Hidden among the Sands has decided to make this exam a show case for our most promising ninja. Originally it was simply going to be my team, but as my brother here has so graciously released information to anyone he liked…" Gaara gave Naruto an annoyed look. Naruto just grinned back unabashedly. "In order to be considered eligible for the chuunin exam, Naruto's team needed to represent both Sand and Leaf as a sign of friendship between our two villages."

The Taka's teammate Aeko whispered something into his ear. The teen nodded. The group turned to leave, but Taka said before he left, "Thank you for being so candid with me. I hope to face all of you in the exam. Just as long as it's not all at once. Good luck. Until we see each other again." Naruto grinned at the teens exit.

"Naruto, Hyuuga-san is choking your other teammate." Naruto looked down to notice that the two had been fighting over one of their hands.

Naruto ignored both of his teammates and reached for their hands. The blond chuckled. "Sorry guys I beat both of you. Flush." Naruto showed his friends his hand, and Hinata growled when she let go of Sasuke's head.

-o-

The kazekage looked steadily at the group of genin. His blue rimmed hat covered his brow, and his stance exuded power. "The first exam will be quite different from other exams returning genin have tried. Each team member is going to be confined to one of four quadrants of the city. There, you will be among civilians. You will need to find the next location of the exam before the chakra signal is ignited. This exam will last for ten hours. Any genin found injuring or threatening the civilians here will be disqualified. At the end of the exam if the entire genin squad is not at the specified location, that team will be disqualified. The test starts as soon as each quadrant is ready to be opened."

The Kazekage walked away and an older man started issuing orders to organize the exam. Naruto whistled at the rules. "Good luck with your sides." Hinata, Sasuke and Gaara's team nodded before they all went their separate ways.

Gaara turned to his team. He gave them three signals before he left. _Lower the numbers. _The girls gave one final wave to each other before splitting.

-o-

Naruto was sent to his designated area and grinned. He knew this place well. Naruto walked the streets for an hour before noticing how many people were out doors. It was reaching sun zenith. Most people would be inside working. Noisy chatter gave another sign and Naruto began to really listen to what people were saying. The blonde smiled inwardly to himself. The people were giving clues left and right! He finally figured he could find the next exam three blocks south of the oasis, it was supposed to be a small building that would have a hidden passage in the back.

After the mystery was solved, Naruto sat down at his favorite restaurant and ate some soft ramen. One loud slurp later he ordered another and began eating. After a single bite he looked over to the ninja that just entered the ramen house. "Hi! Tsumi right?"

The blonde grinned. "Yep! Thought to eat something before I move on, you?"

"We got time to do what ever we want, this isn't a hard test. I actually thought there would be more people hunting each other down."

Tsumi stuck her tongue out. "That's why I just got here." Naruto snickered into his ramen.

"How many?" He ordered another bowl and silently listened to Tsumi as she recounted the nine genin she ran into.

"It was actually easier than I thought it would be, they kept targeting me. I guess girls are supposed to be easy targets."

Naruto frowned. "Why not me? I am the kid."

Tsumi smirked. "Have you seen how people treat you around here?" Tsumi pointed to the customers who were in the restaurant. When Naruto looked over with curiosity, a couple spotted him and smiled and bowed in their seats slightly. "There is no way a ninja no matter how bad, wouldn't notice how you are respected here. No one will touch you in the first part."

Naruto moaned. "Well that sucks! I was hoping to do something besides listening to everyone." Tsumi just laughed before digging into her ramen.

-o-

The dark haired teenager smiled. The young man had his cheek propped up by his wrist and one leg sat on the wood peg of the stool he sat on. He tilted his head and looked under the blushing girls bangs. "I think it would be great to spend more time with you. But my friends are depending on me to get to the next stage of the exams."

The girl snapped out of her thoughts. She breathlessly asked, "Don't you think it would be better to give up? So many people die in these exams." The young man smiled at her. He lifted his chin and leaned a little closer. He whispered into her ear. "While that is an appealing notion, I think my friends would be annoyed if I did not finish with them."

The young lady swooned under his breath. "If you really need to go," She reached out and touched his hand. "Will you come back safely to me?"

The black haired teen smiled at her. "I can always try."

The teenaged girl nodded and squeezed his hand. "Everyone in the village is told the location of each entrance for this portion of the exam. The closest one from here is just beyond Iken's Market. Follow this street to the end of the market. There is a hotel there and talk to the clerk, he'll lead you to the next exam."

Sasuke gave his kindest smile at the girl who melted on the spot. The Uchiha left the building and started walking towards his next destination. The crowded street gave him cover and the teenager disappeared revealing a young boy with sharigan eyes. He entered the building and found three other people there. The boy ninja waved at them with a smirk before sitting down waiting for the time limit to run out.

-o-

Hinata huffed in indignation. "Of the nerve of some people!" She sat on the roof and pulled several wires at her finger tips triggering traps for the ninja who had been stalking her. Normally Hinata would not mind the stalkers, but one of them was just creepy, and the second was trying to grope village women claiming it was not violating the rules of the exam. Hinata had set up the trap a moment when the two were concentrating on the girls around them. When two ninja, both from rain village, lost track of her, they ran through the streets. Hinata calmly timed the corresponding traps. The two teenagers were snatched in mid-step from ground level and were wrapped in tight coils of wire by the time they were upside down and bound facing Hinata. "Are you two really genin?" Hinata flicked a finger and the wire on her index finger snapped forcing the body of the hapless ninja to fly in an arc onto the roof knocking them unconscious.

Hinata gasped when she saw someone she recognized. She grinned at the young boy who had run into Naruto a few nights ago. Hinata giggled as she ran through her hand signs for the jutsu that Kakashi used on the silver haired genin. _Illusionist technique: Simulated death_.

Kabuto was two blocks from the goal when he felt that mental attack again. He stiffened and forced himself to stop from physically pulling out his kunai. Had he pulled it now in the crowded street, he would have likely nicked someone, and there would go his teams qualification. The boy looked around while trying to ignore the images of his death flash through his mind. Finally it stopped and he stumbled for a moment. Kabuto sighed before deciding he needed to get to the goal before who ever kept attacking him comes back and forces him to do something he has not done since the massacre the Konoha ninjas found him in.

Hinata sighed in confusion. The boy was resistant and controlled alright. Especially for someone straight out of the academy. The girl wondered about the boy. There were few reasons for him to be so aware. She shrugged finally disappointed that she couldn't disqualify him in the first round and went to the check point.

-o-

Naruto couldn't help it. He giggled. His arms were behind his head and the suna girl in Gaara's team was giving him a shoulder back ride. "I can't believe you beat me Naruto." Grounded out Tsumi. Who knew someone so small could pack in so much ramen. Naruto giggled again while tapping Tsumi's head. Tsumi looked up and Naruto looked down and just grinned. Tsumi let out a small smile. "Fine. I can't believe you beat me Naruto-sama." Naruto laughed loudly before propping his arms on her head.

The two finally entered the building an hour before the end of the first exam. Inside, Naruto looked over Tsumi's ponytail and hummed a moment before pointing towards the door in the back. Tsumi nodded as they entered the woman's bathroom and found a stall with an 'out of order' sign. They opened the door and Tsumi flushed the toilet handle. The back wall opened and both genin smiled before entering a dank hallway. Both genin recognized the residue of chakra but walked on patiently ignoring it. Finally, the hall opened to a room with three dim lights. They saw three other people sitting and waiting in the room. Naruto was disappointed he didn't see any of the stone ninja he met earlier. But that didn't stop him from waving at the other genin. "Hi!" he smiled.

Tsumi managed not to laugh when the foreboding look the three were leveling at the two faltered under Naruto's greeting. "Naruto. Behave, we are all competitors here."

Naruto scowled. "Says, you. People here forget that this isn't a test against each other, it's a test to demonstrate if we are chuunin material." The three other genin slowly lowered their guard now interested in the conversation between the too-young-genin and the beautiful girl.

Tsumi gave an exasperated sigh before grabbed his foot and tossed him off her shoulders. Naruto spin in mid-air and landed on his feet. "Naruto, I don't want to argue over testing policies. Besides its weird when you talk all serious like Gaara-sempai."

Naruto walked to a seat between two genin who had used the chair as an obvious barrier. "And that creeps me out, there is no way Gaara is a sempai, he's barely older than me."

Tsumi humphed at him and crossed her arms. After a moment Naruto really looked around the room and smiled at the two guys who were eyeing him suspiciously. Naruto grinned at them both. "So how many guys did you guys stop from entering the door?"

-o-

Naruto scratched his head when the door opened again. He never thought that the different doors for each section of town would go to separate chambers for the second exam.

The current proctor turned out to be an old man with a grey beard. He lacked scars over his face, but Nartuo recognized the wooden arm that was dressed to look like his real one. Naruto wondered if he lost his arm, or had it purposefully removed. It was explained to the group they would need to sign a contract for their village stating they understood they may loose their lives in this portion of the test and would be with out aid beyond the boundaries of the testing field.

The examiner looked between the various entrants. "Now that you have all signed away your right to survive, the second exam is simple. You are currently at the entrance to the old emergency tunnels that were used during the Hidden Village of the Sand's first great siege. Since that time, these tunnels have fallen into disuse and are now populated with the more deadly animals of the desert. Your test is simple. Find your two remaining teammates and escape the tunnels." The proctor walked to the door all seven entrants entered. He opened the door and looked at the genin. After a moment he smiled. "Oh, just like when our suna nin helped the village escape, you too will be working in darkness." The lights shut off and the door on the other side of the door opened. "You have three days to make it to the exit with all our teammates or you fail."

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them. Demonic chakra enhanced his eyes, enabling him to see with zero light. To his right he heard the girl from Gaara's team sigh.

Another genin gave a sardonic, "He didn't even say if our teammates even made it to the second exams." There were a few good natured chuckles.

Naruto stretched. "Tsumi, I'll see you in the finals." Naruto gave her a grin he was sure she could not see and ran down the exit into the cavern.

-o-

Sasuke started to dodge a round of kunai but found he didn't need to. He felt a presence loom over him, but he relaxed when he heard the now familiar crumble of sand. "I didn't think you were in this quadrant Gaara."

Gaara stayed silent but his sand sifted across the room. "Three are dead and I am holding the one responsible, should I kill him?"

Sasuke stood and sighed. "You should have just killed him out of reaction, I am against deliberate killing." Gaara gave a hmm at the answer.

Sasuke heard the kunai that were blocked by Gaara's sand clang to the ground. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in the dark. The explosion of kunai spread out and imbedded themselves in the wall. Of the seven who entered their room, Sasuke knew that three died instantly, and two had already moved down the passage as the hail of kunai exploded. Sasuke looked to where the kunai originated from and performed several seals. _Fire element: solar burst_.

A large orange glow spread out like shots across the room. The flash of light was immediate and Sasuke confirmed what he suspected. Gaara had simply pinned the ninja to the ground. A fraction of a second later his eyes met the attacker. Sasuke firmly implanted an image of being stuck inside the genin's head and walked out the door. "We can get out of here now Gaara." Sand shifted and Gaara started walking in step to the door with Sasuke. Gaara looked back perfectly able to see in the lightless room. The trapped genin reached for his knees and tried to pull them out of imaginary muck.

"I still think we should make sure he does not get beyond this point."

Sasuke grunted in agreement. Gaara kept walking and knew Sasuke was going to do something. Sasuke faced the now closed door and smirked at the sounds of struggle and shouts for revenge from the genin who was trapped in Sasuke's illusion. "Stay a genin you scum." Sasuke closed the door and ran through hand signals until he produced a narrow flame that lit the door. Then he deliberately applied the flame to the metal door, welding the door shut.

-o-

Hinata ran through the caves. She was one of the few in this exam that could see with relative ease. Her byakugan is able to make out shapes with no light thanks to their function to see through objects. She dodge over a genin team who had just reunited and entered a wide cavern. The cave walls were thick and were supported in spots by steal beams. This gave her limited visibility. After an hour of exploring her area, she knew where she was in relation to her entrance. Hinata decided to ignore the silver haired genin in favor of finding her teammates. She was surprised to see that some how two of the rock nin teammates entered into the same room. But by the time she had entered the room, some how the leader of that team was talking to the teammate she saw enter her quadrant. If the proctor noticed, he didn't seem to care. Which told her, however he entered the room was not through conventional means like the others in the test room.

Hinata squared that bit of information away for later. After a moment she noticed someone she recognized. She came to a halt and called out, "Tsumi." The teenaged girl slightly lowered her kunai.

"Hyuuga?" The girl was looking at nothing, and Hinata realized the sand ninja was concentrating on hearing.

"Yeah, have you seen my teammates?" Hinata answered immediately. She shuffled her feet on purpose so Tsumi could know her exact position.

Tsumi turned her left ear towards Hinata. "Nope, I've been busy cutting down the competition." Hinata finally noticed the blood on the kunai. After a second she realized there were no dents on the kunai.

"You are just wounding them?"

Tsumi raised her eyebrows. "How can you tell?"

"That kunai looks knew. If you were killing, it would have dents from the bones."

Tsumi gave an annoyed look from the direction of the voice. "You can see?"

Hinata giggled. "Blood line limit."

-o-

Sasuke parted from Gaara after a few tunnels diverged, both promised to send their teammates in the others direction. Sasuke was disoriented with the directions he was facing. After a moment he pulled out a bell he kept from their genin bell test. He rang it periodically listening to the various intonations of the cave. Several people demanded that he declared himself. Sasuke simply repeated the same trap he placed the genin at the entrance in. A simple flash of light, a look in their eyes and the genin were convince they were in broad daylight and trapped by muck to their thighs.

After a moment he felt sweat roll down the back of his head. He listened for a moment and he could barely make out a voice shouting at the top of their lungs from a distance. Sasuke slowly walked towards the sound using the bell to determine how large the room was. Naruto may like to be a target, be he the sure hell did not.

-o-

Hinata decided that the caves were much too large to run through them all. And she still needed to pay attention so she would be able to map out the whole cave. After a moment she felt there was a voice in the air. On Impulse she screamed out. "NARUTO YOU IDIOT QUICK MAKING YOURSELF A TARGET!"

After a second she distinctly heard a voice in the air shout back 'ok'. Hinata rolled her eyes and started walking towards the voice. Unbeknownst to her, her steps were lighter and her pace held more confidence.

-o-

It took fifteen minutes for team Kakashi to be reunited. Much to Sasuke's and Hinata's chagrin, it was because Naruto was screaming at the top of his lungs for them. When the three were reunited, they spoke in hushed tones in a secure cave off shoot.

"We already know that it is not enough to make it to the finals for us to guarantee to go home. We have to pass this examination and be promoted to Chuunin. All of us, or we may be stuck out in the field longer than the council had originally intended us to be." Sasuke stated.

Hinata sighed aloud. "So we really do have to cut down the number of teams so there will be no preliminary exam."

Naruto shrugged at the group. "I don't know why you guys are so hesitant about it. It's not like everyone can pass the exam, if it was a good exam, there will be maybe at most 3 who pass the exam."

Sasuke grounded out loud enough for his voice to echo. "There are only three of us Naruto. We have to cut down the number of entrants to the next exam if we want to have as many shots as possible to appeal to the judges that we are chuunin material. That means we disable as many teams as possible before they leave these caves."

Naruto grunted. "Then let's get to it. Our best bet is to separate teammates and get them so disoriented in these caves they will loose track of their position and of their teammates."

Hinata nodded in agreement and the group broke apart, each heading to a different part of the caves to disable as many people as they can in two days, leaving them one day to get to the exit.

-o-

Gaara was pleased that his team took the initiative and were disabling ninja as they ran across them. Gaara only needed to find the path of immobilized or weakened genin to find Rina. The teen smiled at the boy. Even though she could not see him, he smiled back. Finding Tsumi was only a slightly harder as she actually hid her victims to ensure they would not be found, until towards the end of the exam. She was good at putting people into a deep sleep, and she ensured who ever crossed her path were at least sleep for thirty hours. Enough time so they would not get killed from being unconscious, but long enough for them to not be able to learn the caves well enough to navigate them to pass the exam.

Gaara smiled to himself. He knew people were building mental maps of the caves. "Tsumi remind me to tell Naruto about this. I am sure he will love it." Both girls heard sand sift across the ground and over entrances to other chambers. Both girls chuckled understanding what he was doing.

"You are going to make people think the cave entrances are changing aren't you?"

"Just enough keep the exam interesting. I wonder what some will say when they finally leave the caves. Rina, came from the lower caves, can you show me where some of those are so I can close off a few of those?"

Rina smiled and pulled the boy into a light hug before he was twirled on his foot and onto her back. The motion was so quick Gaara was speechless. Rina said with a strait face, "You are going to have to be my eyes, I can't see in here."

Gaara felt his face go red at the motion of being carried piggy back. After a moment to collect his thoughts he gave a cold laugh. "You are so lucky there is no one else to see me like this. And you are defeating the purpose of this exam. To demonstrate you don't need your eye sight to be an effective ninja." Rina just snorted and Tsumi giggled the whole way constantly saying the whole time she wished she had a camera, or at least see him on Rina's back.

-o-

Twenty seven minutes passed from the start of the exam. Three proctors stood at attention at the exit. They had placed the names of those who had failed the first exam so that those who made it to the end would know if they needed to find their teammates in the caves or were above ground already. One Jounin looked at the exit wall.

Down the path inside the caves a group of three walked up the stairs. The group was glad they were able to get to the end so quickly. It was only by their Leader's ability to find his teammates regardless of where they are that they were able to finish so fast.

"When we get to the top I am sun tanning." Maki gave a shudder, and the other two teammates laughed. The group finally felt the door in front of them and the leader took the door but not before he gasped in pain.

"You alright there Taka?" Aeko asked politely.

"Yeah, I am fine, it's just this thing keeps going off at weird times. I doubt I will ever control it well enough to fight. Its not the most reliable part of my skill set." The leader pulled the door to find three jounin standing at attention in front of a large list of names.

One of the jounin whistled. "That was fast there. Congratulations on being the first and fastest group to pass the second exam."

Taka lowered his hand showing his face was mostly stone and was only now reverting to flesh. "Thank you sir. I don't really like the dark, so I thought to get my teammates and I out as soon as possible." The leader looked at his hand that touched the steel handle. His hand was a dull steel like the handle and only now was changing back to its normal state.

"We are currently four miles from Suna village. If you would like you are welcome to go there until the end of the exam. But we do have room and board here on the site for those who have passed."

Taka and his group grinned. "We'll take rooms here." A jounin smiled at the group and pulled out a book. He gave them a slip of paper from it.

"Take this to the clerk on the second floor. His is the only office room on that level. Have a pleasant stay."

The jounin did not pay attention to the team as they left. After a moment, Taka stretched. "So who is up for some sun tanning."

- - - - - End Chapter 12 The Journey Home - Part 1: Manipulation - - - - -

A/N: OMG people. I am amazing I finished this chapter. On the day I completed my exams on no less. I hope you guys enjoy this little chapter. And yes, I know its been 9 WHOLE months since I updated last. One thing I will ironically point out. March was when I started my way to get my Masters in Education. I just finished the hardest section of that program. And viola! A chapter!

On a more serious note, I think Chapter 13 or 14 will be the last chapter of this story Brothers of the Sand since the rest of the plot I am working with will no longer have the title apply to it. Sad I know, but I am not ending the series, at least for not a little while. Heres to having a new chapter before the year is out. Would be cool to start a new start at the start of the new year.

Edited 10/21/09


	13. Chapter 13 Broken binds

A/N: Hello everyone its been a long while since I put up anything for this story. For returning readers, I have rewritten the first half of chapter one to realign the story to the final chapter.

And here it is, the final chapter of 'Brothers of the Sand.'

Chapter 13

The Journey Home – Part 2: Broken binds

The Hokages have had a tenuous relationship with their village since its inception. Rival clans were barely more loyal to the Kage than they were to their own clan. Men and women who lived by war alone had been split into two groups; those who seemed reluctant to change their ways, and those who were ready to embrace the stability peace could offer. Generations later, the two factions eventually blended together. Many of the latest generations have never known the mistrust the elders know. This distinction has been the conflict that has caused Danzo to loath to face the newest Hokage. Danzo was announced as a guest to the room before being admitted inside.

"Sandaime-sama, Godiame-sama."

Tsunade raised her hand to the man. "Just a moment please Danzo. I say we approve the permits. Konoha has been expanding recently and the current commerce district is just not big enough to handle the influx. A new area should be cleared with in the walls for another commercial zone."

"I agree, but I would rather have some people give up a little of their land, so we may keep the forest inside the walls untouched." Danzo gave an impatient clearing of his throat.

Tsunade closed her folder. When she noticed her former teacher had done the same, she nodded at the man to speak. Both Hokage's had been expecting a conversation with Danzo since Sarutobi decided that Konoha would have two hokage's.

"What is it Danzo?" She looked over the old man. He wore simple robes and a sling that held his weak arm. While he was the Sandaime's former teammate and thus the same age, Danzo had not faired as well as Sarutobi in the field and it showed with the slow gait and the reliance on a walking cane.

Danzo looked carefully at the two before stating his inquiry. "I have recently spoken to a representative of Wind Country's Daimyo…" Danzo paused gauging their reactions. Finally he asked, "Why is the youngest genin team in our roster participating in the Chuunin Exam's?"

Tsunade and Sarutobi exchanged glances. This was news to them. This was not the conversation they were expecting. Danzo looked at the two Kages with narrowed eyes. It was Sarutobi who answered. "I would believe that this would likely be linked to Uzumaki Naruto's friendship with Gaara of the desert."

Danzo waited for more. Tsunade had already started to draft a letter to Kakashi. After waiting a moment, Danzo finally decided to say his peace. "I **told** you that Hatake was unreliable for such a role. This will require a full hearing with the council as to why there is a rouge team with **him **in it, deviating from their mission and how. We will also want answers to why they left for another country." Danzo slowly turned away. It was the last moment glance at Sarutobi that Danzo finally realized the older kage had orchestrated the current events.

When Danzo had left the building, he silently applauded his former friend. _You should take more risks like this Sarutobi. They work well when you know how to plan them._

-o-

Gaara looked into the bright light as the gates to the exit opened. Behind him his team followed him out of the tunnels. The red haired boy sighed as dust fell into his line of vision. His clothing was singed and well worn and his hair was caked in dust. Once outside he looked to his left and saw Naruto set a glare focused on his teammate.

"Naruto, it is better if she just laughs aloud." Immediately Hinata burst out laughing at Gaara's face.

Naruto dusted off the caked dust from his body creating a large cloud. At the few protests from his friends, Sasuke and Hinata started to do the same. The dust cloud filled the exit room from the cave and the examiner yelled at them to get out of the receiving chamber. The group laughed. It was a laugh as much to relieve tension from completing a hard objective as it was to be happy they were out of the tunnels.

One examiner coughed at the dust but quickly said, "Before you leave, the announcement for the final exam will be at five tonight at the enclosed gardens south of the Kazekage tower." The two teams nodded. As they were leaving Sasuke looked over his shoulder to the door the group walked out of moments before.

"Sasuke?" Sasuke glanced at Hinata before following her out.

"We never confirmed how many teams have passed."

Naruto grunted.

-o-

Naruto Sasuke and Hinata stood together pleased with the results of the second exam. Of the forty-two teams that had enrolled, three teams would enter the third exam. While this was not normally such a surprise, many chuunin exams had the same results by the third exam, what was surprising was the number of teams that were forced to retire through a coordinated effort of two teams.

Gaara had briefed Team Kakashi while waiting for the final five minutes of the second exam. Gaara was very pleased with both Tsumi and Rina. He told the girls as much and both teammates were positively glowing from the short terse praise their little master had given them. Both teams stood next to the third team that had passed.

Gaara turned to his left as Hinata slapped her hand over Naruto's mouth before he divulged too much information about their team. Gaara shook his head worried about his brother. The son of the Kazekage was told by a proctor that the Rock team passed with an extremely fast time, and had been in the barracks waiting for the end of the exams. Gaara hmm'ed over the information before he was brought out of his thoughts.

The Kazekage looked at the group before him. "Congratulations. You passed the second exam." The Kage looked at his son. The boy nodded in acceptance of the praise. "The final exam is a simple tournament. The fights will be one on one with each winner able to appeal to the judges for another chance to prove there are ready to be granted the rank Chuunin. The third exam will begin in one week. Rest well and recover."

The three teams were dismissed. Sasuke and Hinata both called out to Naruto to come along. The blonde was faster than they expected and was already chatting with the other team they would be fighting. "Really?" Naruto laughed aloud at some story he was told.

"Naruto move it or you don't get any ramen!" Naruto gasped before bowing his good byes to the team from Rock. When Naruto caught up to Gaara and his team he pouted. "That was very mean! I just wanted to know more about their village."

Gaara smiled. "That is usually fine but make sure one of us is there with you so we can stop you from blurting out something that should not be told to foreigners." Naruto's pout deepened with his arms now crossing in front of his chest.

"Hey if I ask about stuff like what their village is like, it's only fair that I give them answers too!"

-o-

Kakashi quietly read out side the ramen shop. The place inside was too noisy and dark for him to properly enjoy the shenanigans of Yuno in Icha Icha Paradise. Kakashi heard a familiar cry from an ANBU messenger bird and immediately put away the book. He found the bird and raised his arm. The bird circled and then continued on.

The Team 7 leader lowered his one uncovered eye. _There should be no other Konoha Jounin in Suna._ Kakashi raised his headband from his scarred eye and moved to a higher location on a roof to properly get a focus on the birds' eye to confuse it. Kakashi raised his arm out and the bird flew to him. The instructor changed gloves from his fingerless gloves to a pair of completely covered gloves to take the letter. Kakashi recognized the seal used to destroy a captured letter and reversed engineered the flow of chakra in the seal using his sharingan as a guide. The seal opened and Kakashi looked at the encoded letter.

It looked to be a variant of the ANBU code he has used on his own missions. After ten minutes of staring at the code with both his normal and sharingan eye, he finally started to see the patterns in the letter. After the patterns were discovered Kakashi made short work of decoding the letter. He looked around and felt nervous still holding the bird for so long but refused to let the bird go.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the contents. Quickly, the teacher rolled up the scroll and replaced the seal with the same one he deconstructed. Kakashi let the bird go to find its target and silently followed after it. He needed to find the target the bird was looking for.

The bird flew for another twenty minutes before he found his delivery target. The bird trilled and landed on the arm of a Konoha ninja. Kakashi looked at the genin it was sent to. It was a ninja from konoha team Kakashi and his team investigated. Kakashi remembered Hinata stating the brown haired teen's name was Ayutarou.

Kakashi began to understand what was going on with that team. Someone who was not the Hokage realized that there was something wrong with the genin Kabuto and placed a teammate in his group to observe him. Kakashi would not leave it at that. The contents of the letter could not be ignored, and the suggestion there was something deeper going on made him uncomfortable. _It's time to round up my team._

-o-

Naruto was annoyed the party broke up so early, but understood the urgency in Kakashi's voice. Sasuke sat down next to the blonde and asked, "Sensei what happened?"

Kakashi looked at the three genin. "I just intercepted a letter from Konoha." Sasuke immediately saw the problem with that statement.

"Who received the letter Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke glanced at Hinata who asked the question first.

"It was not addressed to the only Konoha Jounin in Suna. I intercepted the letter and gained four vital bits of information. One, there is a Konoha organization running independent from the Hokage. Two, a ninja has infiltrated the other genin team to watch the Kabuto genin we have observed. The third fact is Konoha officially knows we are here taking the exams. And finally most important, a group of ANBU will be here within the time the final exam will begin. They are to detain team Kakashi and prevent my genin squad from participating in the finals."

Naruto scratched his head before finally stating. "We have expected someone would be sent to order our return to Konoha. But to be detained is a little…"

Hinata finished for him. "Messed up. But I can still see how it is justified Naruto. We are the ones that deviated from our mission. That is grounds for being labeled traitors to the village."

Kakashi smiled at the girl. "This **is** out of character for both of our Hokages. Whoever sent the letter either is sending their own squad of ANBU or the squad being sent to detain us was at the urge of someone who has some influence in the military." Kakashi immediately thought of the three advisors who acted as liaisons to the village.

"Now that we know that the ANBU is coming, we can be prepared to take the exam and find a way to avoid being captured before you three take the exam to attempt to become Chuunin." Team Kakashi nodded. The three looked at him waiting to see if there was anything else that needed to be said. Kakashi sighed. "There is one more thing we need to do before the ANBU team gets here…"

Three hours before sunlight would break the sky, Team Kakashi stood on a roof. The group peered into the window of the second Konoha team. It bothered the team they would need to apprehend another Konoha ninja, much less three.

Sasuke had his hands in front of him and used his fingers to frame the window. His sharingan eyes locked onto the window before he finally nodded. "I have everything set. Let's go."

Naruto jumped down to the alley. "Oi! Konoha team! We need help!" Kabuto cautiously looked out the window. Naruto scowled at the young teen. "Don't just stand there! Move it, we got a problem. We got a letter from Konoha." Naruto already jumped to the roof. The three genin that had all eventually looked out the window prepared to follow the young boy. Naruto jumped past Sasuke.

The Uchiha's pinwheel pupils spun. His blood limit locked onto his three targets while they were in mid air. All three crashed onto the roof, trapped in an illusion. Sasuke followed the three with his eyes. "I have all three of them Kakashi-sensei."

"Good." Next to Sasuke, Kakashi had one hand in a seal to focus his chakra and his lone sharingan targeted the fake genin who he identified was the recipient of the letter. Kakashi and Sasuke remained focus on the genin team while Hinata and Naruto searched the hotel room the group had left. Both gave a signal that the place was clean of traps and found no potential information. Kakashi squatted in front of the observer ninja of the group.

"Sasuke observe my chakra flow. I want you to practice this interrogation technique on Kabuto." Sasuke nodded at his teacher before Kakashi spoke. "Ayutarou, what is your mission?"

The interrogation started slowly first. Kakashi explained quietly what he was looking for for Hinata's and Naruto's benefit. There never was any physical contact with the ninja they questioned. When ever a question was asked, the targets eye lids would flutter recalling the information they needed. Much of the information was what the group had surmised. The ninja was not able to speak of his organization. He was only able to utter the name root. Once the questions were done Kakashi closed his eye and looked at his team. "This will be the difficult part. Naruto. Hinata. I want you to hold the ninja as he recovers. Move your chakra around his wrists to slow the flow to his arms. He needs to be lucid for the next phase of questioning, but we can't allow him to have signs he had been detained." Naruto and Hinata both pushed the ninja to a standing position and focused their chakra to disrupt the chakra circulation.

"Sasuke I want you to do the questioning. I will observe, but I will not interfere unless you three are in danger." Kakashi stepped back before he disappeared into the shadows. Sasuke stood in front of the ninja. He thought of what he could say to the teen before the teen began to stir.

"Hello Mr. Root." The ninja felt his body ripple with a moment of tension before he released it. The captured ninja looked to his left and right and noticed the two children disrupting his chakra. "Unfortunately we were not able to find much in your mind that is not sealed away." Sasuke black eyes stared at the ninja. "Lucky for you, we can not afford to have any evidence that we detained you. We have enough problems with Konoha ANBU on its way here now." The ninja stared back but there was a slight twitch at the information Sasuke should not have known. "We have narrowed down the leader of Root down to two people. Have you met the leader of Root before?"

Sasuke noted the slight strain in the captive's eyes. The ninja realized he was some how not marshaling his reactions well enough and simply looked forward and tried to focus on nothing. Sasuke's sharingan forced Ayutarou to look at the boy. "That makes my next question easier: Is the leader a man or a woman?" That got a definite reaction as the teen tensed the muscle attached to his clavicle bone.

"Is there a point to this confrontation Uchiha Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately whispered into his ear. "We have to assess if Root is a threat to Konoha."

Sasuke stared coldly at the teen. "We found what we were looking for. Sleep and forget." Sasuke's eyes flared red and the teen slumped to the floor. Naruto and Hinata released the older teen.

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat. "Kabuto. I know you are awake." Kabuto immediately jumped into the air before his ankle was caught by a hand and his back was thrust into the roof. Kabuto wheezed from the blow to his lungs. "Thank you Naruto." Immediately sand surrounded Kabuto's wrists, waist and neck. Sasuke closed his eyes to give them a rest.

Naruto sighed. "I think it's our turn Hinata. Don't worry about making mistakes, you can damage him. The fact is we found two potentially dangerous entities working inside Konoha."

Hinata nodded. "I know. We just need to find evidence." The veins around the girl's eyes bulged and the pupils that covered her entire eyes contracted to refocus. Hinata repeated the same hand signals Sasuke used and followed the same lesson the team observed while Sasuke performed the technique. Kabuto's eyes did not waiver and his eyes stared straight. Seven minutes passed and Hinata finally ended the jutsu disappointed with herself.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances. Sasuke gave her shoulder a warm nudge. "Don't worry about it Hinata. This guy was likely brainwashed to shut down his mind completely to anything that probed uncomfortable questions related to who trained him." Hinata nodded but still growled in frustration.

Naruto moved his neck, back and shoulders. Each made popping noises from the release of tension in his muscles. "Hinata, Sasuke, I am going to try one more thing before we hand him over. I need you both to hold him while I let my sand release him. I need all my chakra control for this to make sure no one else is feeling _it_."

Filled with curiosity, Sasuke and Hinata moved to hold the older teen. After a moment of Kabuto resisted, Hinata weakened his body with chakra bursts into his muscles, forcing Kabuto to his knees.

Naruto let the sand drop from his body and exhaled. "Ok guys, don't look at me. You will get caught in the intent too."

Sasuke gripped Kabuto already understanding. Sasuke looked at Hinata already sweating from nervousness. "Hinata. Just look at me. Until Naruto tells us it's safe, we look at each other. It's the safest way." Hinata gave a nod in agreement.

Naruto walked in front of Kabuto and held the teens' face with his hands. "Kabuto. Do you remember when you got angry? We watched your eyes turn red from the blood rushing through your body. Your behavior was really different then." Kabuto stayed silent. "Well I am going to force that out of you again. Try not to be too scared. The first few seconds are rough."

Naruto closed his eyes and channeled his chakra. The blue chakra ran like a river through his body and sped over a single spot. Chakra pooled over the seal placed on his belly. Naruto forced chakra through the seal and felt the responding red chakra from his prisoner filter through. Naruto quickly felt anger completely foreign to him grip his mind. Naruto immediately rechanneled the rage and opened his eyes.

Kabuto gasped in silent horror and felt he wanted instinctively try to curl his body for protection. Kabuto felt himself standing in an open black field. The teen cried in momentary relief.

**You are relaxing too soon.**

Kabuto looked around to see Naruto and instantly something so much greater than Naruto or himself stood before him. The nine tailed fox leveled its furious gaze on Kabuto. Kyuubi howled at the teen blurring chakra around them both. Kabuto screamed but his own voice was drowned out by the Kyuubi. Pressured chakra ripped at the teenagers' body. Horrible burns started at every part of exposed skin. After a second, everything was over and Kabuto felt his knees pressed against cool hard concrete. The horrible feeling of being burned froze him in the cold desert air. Kabuto tried to hunch over to catch his breath but was still held in place by two genin who never looked away from each other.

"You must be the real Kabuto we saw on the first day. Thank you Hinata, Sasuke for trusting me." Sand immediately took control of the joints on Kabuto's body allowing for Team 7 to release their prisoner.

Hinata and Sasuke had a real look at the differences between the prisoner before the technique and the differences afterwards. The Kabuto before had a rigid posture and clinical look in his eye as if he was trying to find weaknesses to exploit. This new Kabuto smirked at him through eyes with bulging red veins. He was easily more blood thirsty than the old Kabuto. "What is your purpose?" Naruto asked. The blonde watched the teen wearily.

Kabuto breathed hard and felt his body shake with fatigue, finally he looked around and saw himself surrounded by three ninja. After a moment Kabuto answered between pants. "To watch. To observe Konoha."

"What do you want from us Kabuto?" Asked Sasuke as he pulled out a Kunai. Hinata already had one kunai pointed at the teen's neck.

"Release me. I need to fulfill my mission."

Naruto thought a moment. "You need to fulfill your mission to watch us-."

"Yes." Kabuto interrupted with a grin. His head turned to one side and he exhaled a slight laugh. "For me to prove that it is all worth it. I need to watch Konoha." Team Seven wondered what that statement meant.

Naruto squatted in front of Kabuto. "What will happen if you are discovered or killed during this mission?"

"Everything will start sooner. MUCH sooner." Kabuto sat back content that he had given the ultimatum. Sasuke grabbed Kabuto by the hair and forced the teen to look at him in the eye. A moment later Kabuto was unconscious.

Kakashi walked forward from the shadows of the roof. "Good job Team Seven." The team silently thought about what they learned. "I think we are going to have to ask for a favor from the Kazekage."

Naruto nodded. "I'll get him now. I don't think we should chance either of them safe enough to be let loose."

Kakashi nodded. "Go Naruto, bring their ANBU here then request the presence of the Kazekage. Be polite." Naruto grinned before disappearing in a gust of sand. "Hinata. Sasuke. Bind Kabuto and the Root. I will see about the third member and see if he knew of any of this."

The night was long and exhausting. ANBU was present within a minute and they held the two prisoners. Kakashi sifted through the memories of the third member of the ill fated team but his interrogation techniques did not signal a single red flag. This Konoha ninja was just placed in a bad situation. The Kazekage arrived within ten minutes and talked grimly to Kakashi.

Not a single member of team seven noticed it was dawn until the sun broke over the first dunes. With the sunlight, a single messenger hawk was sent to Konoha. It was trained to fly at high altitudes to avoid detection and it quickly arrived in Konoha. The messenger receiver looked at the scroll to see Kakashi's seal as a jounin on the scroll. It was opened and a summoning seal released itself from the scroll. A small pug dog with a blue coat and Konoha headband gave a happy pant at the messenger and relayed its instruction to speak with the Hokage. An hour later, both Hokages sat silently before both agreeing with the suggestions given by Team Seven about the situation.

-o-

Team Seven was able to get six hours of sleep before being woken up by their sensei. Sand ninja had spotted the Konoha ANBU enter Wind country. Naruto immediately decided that the team needed to be introduced to the Diamyo of Wind Country. Naruto led his team in meeting the cultural elite with names like mustache-san, giggly-chan, and diamyo-kun. Hinata and Sasuke had worked along side security of Fire Country's Diamyo and cringed when Naruto loudly smacked the Diamyo's son hard on the back nearly pushing the twenty year old flat on his face.

Kakashi smiled while nodding at the Kazekage that evening. The Kage's children stood rigidly next to him. "Kazekage-dono. Thank you for your hospitality and patience with my team. It seems I truly have no skills in troop discipline."

The Kazekage gave a gruff laugh. "I have had the boy in my village for some time Kakashi. I don't think anyone can silent his spirit. I heard that the Diamyo has requested your team stay with him and his estate in the village."

Kakashi marveled at how well Naruto could talk circles with the nobility. The blonde had guaranteed that they would not be disturbed by Konoha ANBU until they were free of the Wind Diamyo's attention. "Yes, I thank you for the housing you have given us until now, but I believe the Diamyo wishes us to stay with his party until the start of the exams. I also would like to add he would like to speak with your son Gaara-kun as well." The Kazekage gave a glance to his son who had the decency to look abashed.

"Go children, you have been at your father's side enough that all three of you are bored." Kankuro, and Temari bowed in thanks. Gaara gave a slight nod of his head before walking towards his friend. The Kage spared a side glance, Kakashi's sad eyes followed Gaara. "Have the rumors of my relationship with my son been spread so far as Konoha, Kakashi?"

Kakashi eye's softened at the sight of the children before bowing his head. "Forgive me Kazekage-dono. I meant no disrespect."

"It is fine son of the white fang. As a child ninja yourself, I can understand you value attachments more than most ninja. From someone who has had to reattach themselves to their village… What is your impression of Gaara?"

Kakashi thought a moment before answering. Team Sevens' leader looked at the children. Gaara was silent but had a smile for a moment when Naruto wrapped his arms around Temari in a momentary glomp that was followed by the laughter of the nobility. "He is firmly attached to this village. What ever his aspirations are, he will find a way to fulfill them. For his serious demeanor, he is far more childish than Naruto."

The Kage exhaled a half bark that sounded like a laugh. "And far more stubborn. Thank you Kakashi. It is good that I hear that from another voice." Kakashi spoke with the Kazekage for the rest of the evening until the party dispersed. Kakashi began to make his own connections with the politician's of the group and found the stay with the nobility informative.

Finally…

The morning of the exam arrived.

-o-

Team Seven stood in front of the nobility that housed them for the past few days. "Thank you Diamyo-kun!" shouted Naruto.

The blonde's head was pushed forward by Hinata in a forced bow. "Thank you Sir. The last few days were a positive experience for us." Sasuke remained silent but smiled at the ground before rising from his bow.

The group felt the security of the noble's procession leave behind them before each nodded at each other and disappeared.

Naruto dashed through alleys. He pressed the small communicator in his ear. "Naruto. Checking in." Naruto heard his ear piece state back.

"Hinata. Checking in."

"Sasuke. Checking in."

"Kakashi. Checking in. Remember avoid the ANBU at all costs until you are called for your match. If you get caught before being tested a lot of the work we accomplished will be discredited." All three children clenched their jaws.

-o-

Gaara looked at the audience seating around the arena he stood in. He had first draw against Maki the male rock ninja. Naruto said Maki was suspicious of Naruto from the moment he talked to the rock team.

Gaara stared at his opponent. The ninja was very cautious and moved closer to him very slowly. A second later the red haired boy thrust his hand out at the teen ninja which was accompanied by a wave of sand. His target dodged the attack and Gaara let the Rock Ninja have the true opening move. Gaara jumped high into the air to give himself room just as Maki unlatched a scroll that was strapped to his thigh. Three large lances burst from the first scroll flying towards Gaara.

Gaara's sand knocked the three lances deep into the earth shaking the ground. Sounds of sifting sand echoed in the stadium as cheers wailed into the air.

-o-

Sasuke was not surprised that the Konoha ninja made no effort to conceal himself. The ANBU simply placed a hand on his shoulder effectively stopping Sasuke's movement. "Mr. ANBU, you are really hasty." Sasuke looked over his shoulder looking at the man in the eye. "Can't we stay long enough to participate in the exams?"

The ANBU gave an annoyed humph before placing his free hand into a seal. When nothing happened he looked at the boy he restrained. The boy suddenly turned to sand statue. He tried to let go but felt himself unable to. Five seconds of analyzing the situation stopped when he felt two fingers press against his temple and the words "KAI!" hit him like a cold bath of water. Both ANBU double checked to confirm neither of them were still in a genjutsu.

Simultaneously, both ANBU exhaled and looked at each other. "We better move in pairs." Two other ANBU on the roof above them nodded before they disappeared.

-o-

The cheers of the crowd finally died. Gaara waved his hands to the crowd and discretely moved his sand to cover the open scrolls his opponent used. The young boy rolled them quickly while Maki was still recovering his breath. "You fight well Maki-san. Your spatial awareness is good. I hope you become a chuunin with this showing of effort."

Maki looked at the boy uncomprehendingly. "Thank you for covering my scrolls while I passed out."

"I would like to believe you used your best abilities in this fight, it would be tragic if someone in the crowd was able to view those seals to copy them." Maki felt embarrassed and a flush burned his cheeks. The Rock Ninja stood and thanked the boy again with a bow. The crowds cheered again.

The Exam Proctor waited until both examinees were off the field. "The next two opponents please come to the ring. Uchiha Sasuke and Komosubi Rina!"

Sasuke immediately appeared in swirl of leaves. Rina jumped from the examinee booth and got a good look at the boy. He was breathing hard and had a heavy sweat on his face. She did not know exactly was going on with Team 7 from the leaf, but knew Gaara's orders. _Don't go easy on Team 7._

As soon as the proctor's hand dropped, Rina dashed towards the young boy. Sasuke only had time to raise his arms in a guard blocking the first three attacks squarely before pushing the girl to give him room. The Uchiha closed one of his eyes and performed several hand seals. _Fire element: Grand Fire Ball_. Fire burst from his mouth rolling at Rina. Rina clasps her hands together before slamming them into the ground. Earth surrounded her in a dome.

Sasuke cut the jutsu as soon as he lost sight of the girl. He jumped back before Rina tried to grab his ankle from underground. Sasuke looked at the girl who was half submerged in the ground. He pulled out a kunai to defend himself just as Rina moved forward. Her body began to completely submerge into the ground leaving a trail of dirt flying into the air before she went deep enough that there was no visible signs on the surface that she was moving.

Sasuke closed his eyes and focused on the vibrations in the earth preparing for the girls next attack. He side stepped a burst of earth that thrust at him but misjudged the kind of attack. The dirt quickly formed into a ring and moved vertically towards him gripping his waist. Sasuke pulled out a Kunai and charged it with chakra to break apart the ring and gain more distance. The child jumped and stood against the wall of the stadium looking for any disturbances of earth. Several ninja stars flew from the shadows. Sasuke danced around the stars as they landed against the wall. The Uchiha kept to the wall looking for some sign of weakness.

Sasuke tried to slow his deep breathing. The genjutsu he performed to escape ANBU was one of his most chakra draining techniques since it required his sharingan.

Uchiha Sasuke took a gamble and closed his right eye and opened his left revealing his sharingan. He saw the stars coming from a mound of dirt that was disturbed in such a way he would not be able to see the origin when he stared straight at it.

Sasuke dropped from the wall and sprinted using chakra with every step towards the ninja' star's origin. Spikes of earth burst from the ground. Sasuke dodged them easily now that he could see the gathering of chakra on the ground before the spikes tried to hit him. The boy slid to the entrance and performed the same technique he had used at the start of the match into the hole. _Fire element: Grand Fire Ball._ The sound of a vacuum rushed through the ground as fire quickly burned through the tunnels in the earth. Rina jumped out of the ground. Fire licked her legs as she left the tunnels she burrowed. She landed and her feet shook slightly.

Sasuke did not give her time to recover. With both eyes closed Sasuke did the same hand signs. _Fire element: Grand Fire Ball._

Rina felt her legs weakened from the last attack and only had time to create her earth dome. When the fireball hit her dome she was prepared to drop the dome and try to counter attack but the crowd cheered at something. She immediately strengthened her dome. And something else hit her earth shield. Hard.

-o-

As soon as Sasuke felt the technique form and leave his hands, he opened his left eye. His sharingan began to spin rapidly and with just moving his hand to his mouth he started his next jutsu. _Replay: Grand Fireball._ Sasuke felt the technique finish, and quickly closed his left eye and opened his right. _Replay: Grand Fireball_. Three loud cracks hit the earth dome. The third fireball broke Rina's defenses.

Rina had the presence of mind to move as much raw chakra to the front of her body to shield herself from the fire. When the fire ball died Rina stood panting. She pulled out a kunai and unsteadily held it in her hand. The sand ninja prepared herself for another attack.

Immediately Sasuke sighed. "It looks like my time is up. I Uchiha Sasuke forfeit the match." The crowd gave a disappointed aw, but the proctor accepted the defeat.

Rina and Sasuke walked up to each other and gave the other a slap on the back. Both were pleased with their fight. They got off the field and Sasuke raised his arms. "I surrender. I won't fight anymore." Two ANBU places hands on his shoulders.

"Forgive us for not believing you. But I think I will need to blind fold you to ensure you don't try again."

Sasuke glared at the man. "I ran out of chakra, you could see that in my fight. I am not going to struggle. But I DO want to see my friends' matches."

"You may watch the end of the tournament. But we will be damned if we let your teammates participate in the exams."

He stopped when the Proctor called for Hinata and Aeko from the Rock Village. Two ANBU next to Sasuke scanned for the girl. Sasuke smirked at them before saying, "Sensing chakra isn't going to help you find her." A second after he made the comment several popping noises echoed in the stadium. The ANBU quickly turned to the arena entrance seeing a small figure flare her chakra from none existent to her normal fighting level.

-o-

Hinata sat casually in the stadium seating. The young girl wrapped her self in traditional Sand Village wardrobe with a long piece of cloth wrapping around her hair. She had pulled in nearly all of her chakra into her body to keep her self hidden. Hinata cheered for Gaara and Sasuke and only made an effort to move to the stadium floor when her opponent was on the ground waiting.

A sifting sound of wind and dispersed sand announced her presence. "Start the match!" Hinata shouted already trying to raise her chakra to her normal levels as quickly and safely as possible. The proctor, while surprised, did as was asked and started the fight.

Hinata sighed in relief to know that the ANBU would not interfere now. But she was also faced with the problem with her chakra needed more time to raise itself to the needed levels to fight the way she wanted to.

Aeko was surprised by the abrupt beginning of the match but quickly shook it off and launched her attack. She focuses mainly on hand to hand combat and was surprised at the difference of being larger than her opponent affected her fighting style.

Hinata dodged several attacks swiftly. The sound of popping bursts of chakra accompanied her moves. _I need more time._

Aeko finally began to adjust to the size difference and with one missed attack, she quickly drew a hidden kunai from her fore arm and let it swing to her hand. The sudden change of length Hinata needed to dodge caught her. Hinata bit back a grunt of pain. The younger girl jumped back several yards and took off her jacket. She looked at the clean slice on her arm.

Hinata saw smudges of something along the cut and pulled out her own kunai to cut another slice along Aeko's cut. The rock ninja moved forward in an attempt to force Hinata to concentrate on her, instead of removing the poison.

The Hyuuga already felt herself burst into a fever while she dodged Aeko's hand to hand attacks. Hinata landed a pounding kick to the girls' kidneys before jumping back and squeezing the poison out thoroughly. She tied the wound with the bandana she used to hide her distinctive hair. It was just enough time so she could pull a kunai to defend herself against Aeko's next attack.

"Aeko-san…" The older girl looked at Hinata's smile. "You didn't finish me off in time, I collected enough chakra now." Aeko jumped back just before she heard hundreds of popping sounds come from the girl.

Hinata dashed at the teenager. Her hands were alive with blue chakra. When both girls made physical contact, Aeko felt her forearm being pierced with chakra that penetrated her muscles. Aeko groaned out in pain as several more blocks were rewarded with painful pulses of chakra to her arms.

Aeko made room between her and the dangerous little girl. She moved her hands together and Hinata felt the arena go black.

-o-

Naruto quietly watched the match and cheered when Hinata recollected all the chakra she had suppressed while hiding. Naruto let his feet swing over the edge of the canopy from where he was viewing the match. The blonde boy had made a few attempts to hide but felt someone follow him for a long time. Naruto had decided at one point there was no real reason to hide with out at least asking the ANBU some questions.

"Mr. ANBU-san can you come out please? I have been curious about some stuff."

The boy felt something shadow him and Naruto immediately lean forward and pivoted his feet along the wall that ended in a pirouette three feet away. Naruto sat back down and looked at the ANBU mask. "Relax. I am not going to run away for a little while, Hinata's fight just started. I did want to ask: who sent you?"

Naruto felt the look from the ANBU and laughed. "I am just curious. I have had Konoha ninja sent to kill be before, so I just wanted to make sure you weren't one of those. But since you haven't really done anything to me yet I supposed that's a no." Naruto smiled at him and turned his attention back to Hinata. The boy gave a vocal 'oh', "Looks like me and Sasuke were right about the girl. She is a genjutsu user."

The ANBU resisted the urge to look. "Was there another question you wanted to ask me?"

Naruto looked up at the woman's voice. "Mmhmm!" Naruto hummed while watching Hinata. "Sorry but this is the good part, Aeko-chan just got the raw end of the stick fighting Hinata. Hinata-chan is strong against genjutsu users."

-o-

Hinata felt her body move in complete darkness. While it was not similar to the complete darkness in the caves during the second test, this darkness was not able to be pierced with her blood limit. The girl let chakra flow out of her body in a free floating cloud around her body. When she felt something disrupt the chakra in front of her, Hinata flipped backwards. Her chest hurt from the few seconds of contact but she could not see what had hit her. Hinata started regulating her chakra and the sounds of chakra making popping bursts at her hands slowly moved into her own system to disrupt the genjustu. Immediately the illusion broke apart. Hinata only had enough time to dodge a large mallet her opponent wielded.

Aeko whistled at Hinata's ability to break her strongest illusion. She moved her steel hammer to her left hand and made several seals before slapping her weapon. The weapon started to vibrate until the surface of the head was turning a bright heated red.

Hinata felt the heat from the hammer as it missed her body. Hinata jumped farther away. It was her turn to fight at a distance. Hinata made several seals before the popping sounds finally stopped.

Hinata moved around the girl keeping eye contact before she thrust her hand out at the girl. A thick beam of chakra moved from the young girls' fingertips. Aeko was caught off guard by the speed of the attack and felt the line of chakra ram into her abdomen. Hinata gave a relieved smile that her first attempt was successful.

Aeko looked at the blue chakra cord and suddenly felt many bursts of charka burn into her body. The rock ninja immediately fell to the ground. Hinata approached the girl cautiously and turned the rock ninja over.

"Winner Hyuuga Hinata!"

The crowd cheered at the young girl beating an older opponent. Hinata ignored the cheers and knelt next to Aeko and quietly healed the disrupted chakra coils, and the bruising she had inflicted. Aeko slowly managed to come around and looked at the child in surprise.

"Thank you for the fight Aeko-san. It was fun. I hope the next time we see each other, it will be as friends and not enemies." Hinata bowed to the girl and walked out of the arena. An ANBU officer tapped Hinata's shoulder. Hinata looked at the Konoha ninja and nodded, allowing her self to be escorted away.

-o-

Naruto smiled at the declaration that Hinata was the winner. "That was great!" The boy stood up and dusted off his rear and legs. "Thank you. I really wanted to watch the match." The boy started to do a few stretching exercises before he stopped and looked at the adult ANBU. "My question to you was: If I can make the council loose their ability to blackmail the Hokage, would you let me do one round in this exam?"

The ANBU woman stared at the boy. Unsure of her voice, she asked. "Can you really do that?"

Naruto nodded. "It's already started. The town is growing. You know that. It's a big deal in the capital too. Why do you think people are so interested in moving to Konoha?" Naruto smiled at the ANBU. The woman seemed unsure. Naruto pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the ANBU. Naruto turned to the arena floor. His name was called a second time. "Well?"

The female ANBU read the paper and closed her eyes. With a sigh the woman grunted out, "Please make good on your promise."

Naruto jumped down from the roof shouting out, "of course!" behind him.

A second later, "What the hell did you just do! You had him! We could have prevented one of the brats from taking the exam. How the hell are we going to explain this to the Hokage."

The woman handed him the letter. "This is a merchant permit for Konoha." The second ANBU glared at her. "Look who signed it."

"Uzumaki Naruto? He bought four acres of land _inside_ Konoha. How?"

The woman shook her head but said, "He said he could make the council loose their hold on the Hokages."

The second ANBU took off his mask. "That's a dangerous game the brat's playing."

"So is taking off your mask Anko. Put that back on."

"The mission failed. I don't have to wear it anymore." Anko answered with an annoyed tone.

-o-

Naruto looked over to his opponent. "Hey Taka!"

The teenager smiled at the boy. "It's good to finally be able to see what you got Uzumaki!" Taka threw several ninja stars at the boy.

Naruto moved his hands at the stars and sand grasped the projectiles before flinging them back to their owner. Taka raised his hand at the stars and caught one star. Immediately his hand turned into solid metal. He caught the other two and gave an annoyed look to his hands. Naruto giggled at the glare. "You really should learn how to control that Taka." During the many conversations through the exams, Naruto had learned that the teen had a problem controlling his blood limit. The ability to absorb the material that is touched and make the body as strong as that material; provided it was made of some kind of earth.

Naruto and Taka fought, both finding limited success in their stalemate. Finally Taka looked from the sand that covered his body courtesy of the explosion from Naruto. "Naruto please surrender." Naruto noticed the sudden change in Taka's voice. There was no more playing between them.

"Not yet Taka." Taka gave the boy a brief smile. Taka understood Naruto's need to show up his skill to the judges. But Taka felt himself running out of options. His sensei had always ordered him to push his boundaries. It was time to really push one. Taka looked at Naruto in the eyes for a brief moment before he burst into sand. Naruto's eyes widen before he looked to the sifting winds around the arena that kicked up sand. Naruto dodged large burst of sand that took the shape of a wall. Then another that broke the ground breaking the arena into halves. Naruto dodged another burst of sand from the ground that created another wall.

Naruto looked around realized his fighting area was getting progressively smaller. Naruto ran to one of the walls and poured chakra into his sand and made the accumulated sand in his arm change to a large sphere over his fist. The sand hammer broke through one wall and immediately the sand walls all burst throwing sand into the air. Naruto looked around and felt for Taka's chakra. "That's not going to work Naruto, my blood limit is based off my body not my chakra."

Naruto started a moment looking around. Takas' voice felt as if it was right next to his ear. After thinking about the origin, Naruto felt his body tensed. "Are you in there Taka? In my sand armor?" He was answered with constricting sand surrounding his body. Naruto felt the squeezing compress his ribs. The air in his lungs was suddenly limited and his knees buckled against the pressure of sand making his knees move.

"Surrender Naruto." The controlled sand forced Naruto to raise his arm and the sand around his neck gripped his head forcing it to turn to the proctor.

Naruto suddenly understood all those months Chiharu explained the flaw in his ability to control his sand. Naruto, in this instant, understood the look of sadness the man gave him when he outright refused to find another way to keep himself balanced with himself and not just his teammates.

Naruto felt something sting his eyes and he knew it was not sand. For the first time in years he felt his own tears build in his eyes. The boy felt all his hard work crumble. All the years controlling sand left him blind to possible counters to his skill. Now that he saw an actual method he felt himself think of hundreds of other ways to counter his sand. Both of his teammates could dispel his technique if they had fought all out with him. Why was his predicament such a surprise? All because the simple method he used to control his sand.

"I-Naruto-" Naruto felt his jaw open and he realized Taka's intention. Taka was making _his_ voice sound like his victims to declare a forfeited. _No!_ Naruto closed his eyes and felt the sand loosen from his body and then drop completely from his frame. Naruto jumped away from the sand and gasp from the sudden release that was crushing his ribs. "Good try Taka."

Taka pulled himself out of the sand and felt his body reform it self. He knelt and pulled a kunai from his bag he dropped before bursting into sand. Taka said quietly, "Thank you Naruto. I think I now understand my blood limit a little better now. I am amazed- your sand… is absolute chakra control isn't it?" Naruto nodded sadly. He spared a glance to the observation deck where Gaara would be watching.

Just as quietly as Taka, Naruto stated, "I can't do true jutsus like Gaara does. All I can do is manipulations to look like techniques. But I wanted to try; just for us to be closer."

Taka nodded his understanding. "It's not really needed anymore though is it?" Naruto looked at the teen. A surprised expression was evident on his face. "You talk about your friends and Gaara especially. You are family." Naruto had felt himself smile before it turned into a true grin.

Much louder Naruto laughed out. "Taka you will be a really great leader of your clan. Don't let those old bastards say otherwise."

"I don't think I have to worry about that anymore." Instantly Taka's body turned to the dull black steel that matched the kunai in his hand.

"Thank you Taka. I think you hammered into me what my teachers really couldn't." Naruto changed out of his fighting stance and clasped his hands together. A brief warmth of red chakra flowed through his body. Naruto's eyes burned red for half a second before returning to their deep blue.

Both Taka and Naruto dashed towards and exchanged blows with each other. Naruto reinforced his body of pure chakra made a loud _clang_ when his fist met against Taka's hands. Naruto grabbed Taka's kunai and slammed his free hand against the teen's wrist. With a hard twist Naruto removed the kunai from Taka's hand but was rewarded with metal foot to his sides. A half moment later, Taka lost the metal attributes he had taken from the Kunai. Naruto caught the leg and locked it. He dropped his weight and Taka felt himself forced to drop his hips or risk breaking his knee. Naruto put a foot against the teen's hip making him roll on his stomach. Naruto pulled Taka's leg round and knelt against the small of Taka's back grasping one leg firmly. Suddenly a weight pressed against the older teens body. Hard. Cracks fanned out of the body beneath Naruto.

Taka's face was in the ground. Instantly Taka started laughing. "How the hell did you pin me when you are a third my size?" Naruto laughed with him. After a moment Naruto sighed before letting Taka go. Taka instantly broke free of the last hand on his leg and cleared several meters. The teen looked at Naruto in confusion.

"Proctor!" Naruto shouted at the only other man on the field. "I am disqualified for accidently using non-sanctioned outside sources of chakra." Quietly to Taka Naruto conceded a little more information. "I have a secondary chakra source in my body. I accidently drew from that even though I was told I would be disqualified if I did." Taka took the information at face value. Many ninja have their secrets, and this was one Naruto would not want shared with people he did not trust. Taka felt his friendship with the boy strengthen with the knowledge.

The crowd gave a disappointed cry at the proclamation before the proctor announced Taka the winner. Naruto and Taka gave each other a slap on the back.

-o-

Kakashi clapped politely next to the Kazekage. The Anbu were flanking him both keeping a careful eye on their sempai. "I was given confirmation from the Hokages that they agreed with our decision regarding the other konoha team. If you will excuse me Kazekage-dono, I believe I have to go see an old woman about a trial." The Kazekage repressed a laugh.

"When ever your ninja are ready to take them off my hands, I will be prepared. I believe it will be in our best interests for both villages if our contacts are from those who are already aware of the situation." The Kazekage looked at Kakashi. The squad captain understood the request to return to Suna when Konoha would have to pick up the Root member and the spy.

Kakashi walked with his escorts to the viewing deck with the chuunin exam participants. He smiled brightly at his team. "Well that went well." The team laughed. Each was satisfied with their showing. Team seven said one more final good bye to Gaara's team and the team from rock. Each group promised to keep in contact to find who received the promotions.

-o-

Tsumi looked around the arena with a bright smile before settling on her opponent. "You know, my first sensei was killed by a ninja from Rock." Tsumi gave a brief smile before bowing. "I want to dedicate this match to his memory as an amazing sensei." The cheers echoed through the city at the proclamation.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the gates of Suna Village and smiled at the noise. The walk would be long since the ANBU did not want any of them to use chakra, and they had already worn themselves out in their matches and attempts to avoid the ANBU. "Did you ever say good bye to Gaara's siblings?" Kakashi asked over his book.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto. "We actually didn't get much time to speak to them since we were attached to the nobility." That earned an annoyed growl from one of the ANBU. Sasuke laughed with Hinata. "Naruto I know you wandered off last night. Did you talk to them?"

Naruto smiled wistfully. "I said good bye to Temari last night."

Kakashi giggled at the implication as it nearly matched the last few pages of his book. Hinata struck her master in the thigh where she could reach. "Don't be perverted Kakashi-sensei! I think it is sweet Naruto risked getting caught to see Temari." Hinata gave a full blushed smile to Naruto. Sasuke sighed for the sake of giving some kind of input to the conversation.

A few moments passed before Sasuke finally asked what has been bothering him. "No sand Naruto?"

"I have a few bottles at home. I think I am just going to enjoy not having to use my chakra for a while. And I will need to review what Chiharu taught me. It is going to take me years to learn how to fight with out sand. But I will do it when I am not doing a mission."

Hinata smiled. "But you will be using sand until then right?"

Naruto placed his hands behind his head and smiled at the girl. "Yep."

-o-

The Third Hokage took off his hat. The heat of the room was not a factor for his composure, but keeping himself collected in a room full of people with entitlement issues was. He stood in the room surrounded by the Clan leaders, and the representatives of the civilian trader's commerce. The later portion of this council had been a grievous error since its inception the day of the Kyuubi attack.

The commerce was more of a council of civilians who wanted to be safe inside Konoha. They would make demands to increase security for policing the town, in place laws that would match other cities rather than a military village. In other ninja villages, any kind of union of commerce to represent them selves to the kage would be non-existent since many would have too many self interests. But Konoha received this unfortunate by-product thanks to the civilian's unanimous demand to remove the demon container Naruto from the village.

The negotiations started with all of the civilian businesses ready to leave Konoha if the Hokage did not do the right thing and kill the demon. Slowly the binds around the Hokage's hands settled with an unbalance of power in favor the commerce which was the blood of the ninja village.

"This is no longer the case." Announced the Third Hokage. "As of now, this commerce has not accepted the new business owners that have moved into Konoha over the past decade. Either this 'commerce' accepts the new businesses with true representation or you are no longer welcome in Konoha."

The out cry had built through the meeting. Realization dawned on a few representatives. They had lost the leverage to remain equals with the Hokage. The commerce representatives swore silently at the new businesses. They had all heard the stories from the capital and how their good little children ninja encouraged people to move to the ninja village, to create families and businesses in Konoha.

The city swelled in numbers since team seven started their mission of undetermined length in the capital. Every civilian and ninja knew who they had to thank for the number of businesses that started in the last year. Naruto had single handedly become the Konoha spokes person in the capital. By the end of the day, the original commerce found themselves marginalized being out numbered by two to one in population. The number of representatives they now needed was over twice as many as the ones currently represented in the meeting.

The Third Hokage put on his hat and left the meeting. His job was done. There would be no more threats to the village or to Naruto from the merchants' demands for protection from the demon.

-o-

Three days later an official statement was drafted for the second team that was sent to the chuunin exams. The two members of the second team were reported as being detained by Sand's ANBU for fighting with other chuunin examinee's and were arrested and imprisoned. Tsunade wrote the reports her self and her official seal was placed on each of the seven documents to close the incident.

The file was now closed and before her stood Team Seven. "As unorthodox as your mission was and how it changed with the addition of new information, I give this mission the Rank A. My personal Anbu are investigating the reports of Root and the agenda being used inside Konoha." Sasuske, Hinata and Naruto all resisted the urge to fidget and looked at their Kage.

"Regarding the results of Konoha ninja who had passed the Chuunin exams…" Tsunade nodded to her side and Sarutobi moved a large package from under the desk. Tsunade stood along with Sarutobi who called, "Hyuuga Hinata. With your performance at the exams I grant you the Rank: Chuunin." Hinata received two hugs from the boys and she quickly stood in front of her Kages. Both Hokages waited until Hinata placed on her new chuunin jacket before they bowed to Hinata. Hinata secured her jacket and ran back to her team.

"Uchiha Sasuke, with your performance at the Exams I grant you the Rank: Chuunin." Sasuke got a hug from Hinata and a slap on the back from Naruto. Sasuke slipped on his chuunin jacket and moved his shoulder to get used to the new heavier fabric. He bowed to his Hokages and rushed back in line.

Naruto looked at Tsunade. She looked back before smiling. "Get over here Naruto. There was no question about you passing the exams." Naruto grinned at his teammates before running up the old woman and giving her a hug before jumping down and sliding on his chuunin jacket. "Uzumaki Naruto. With your performance at the exams, I grant you the Rank: Chuunin." Naruto bowed and turned to his team before being bowled over by his teammates.

In the pile Hinata shouted "We did it!" Sasuke and Naruto laughed and the group hugged and tumbled together. Kakashi, Tsunade and Sarutobi laughed at the spectacle.

-o-

Gaara stood with his team. Each wore their new jackets with pride. "Kazekage-sama" Gaara said with respect. The adult nodded to Gaara and the boy dismissed his team. The red haired boy watched his team file out before the doors closed. Gaara stood in front of his father.

"Congratulations Gaara. What have you decided for your team's future?" Gaara felt his hands grip behind him thinking about his answer.

"I would like my team to perform guard duty for the length of one year before returning to the mission roster."

The Kazekage nodded at the plan. "Your team in particular has taken a high amount of missions out of the village. You wish to allow your team to recover and retrain?"

Gaara immediately thought of the group who were setting their eyes on all demon containers. "I believe it is time for me to retrain how I handle myself as a ninja. I have become know for my sand. I think I should have something else in my arsenal."

The Kazekage smiled. "Like Naruto?"

Gaara remained silent and bowed. "Is this plan acceptable?"

"You may proceed. Captain." Gaara stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "Gaara…" The boy turned back to the Kazekage. "If you need to fight someone to get used to the opponents you will eventually face. My door will be open."

Gaara gave a rare smile as he left.

-o-

Weeks passed after the famous chuunin exams in the village hidden in the sands. The participants of the final rounds of the exams had, in their own way, made a name for themselves in their young lives. The name of Naruto and Gaara known as the brothers of the sand faded into memory of famous young ninja. However the ties they had to each other, and by extension to their villages remained strong.

Epilogue

Naruto sat on the flattened earth. His legs were crossed and chuunin jacket was folded neatly to his side. The boy had his blond hair untied and was messily forming a halo over his face. He pulled a handful of loose dirt in front of him. "Now just apply a little wind chakra…" Slowly fine grains of dust blew out of his hand.

Naruto smiled at the few specs of dust he recognized as sand.

The End

A/N: Thank you everyone who has stuck with this story after the years of inactivity. I hope everyone is happy with the ending of the story. As for any possible continuations of this story's universe, I may write a few one shots to continue the story. But hopefully (for me) there will be no multi-chapter stories.


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